A Trip To The Past: The Titan's Curse
by NicoDiAngeloLover7
Summary: The Gods and Demigods are still reading the series, and now are on the third book. Don't like don't read. Nico/Percy(Slash).
1. Chapter 1

******Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and I probably never will.**

* * *

When arriving back at Olympus, Apollo started to whine.

"I want to do something other than reading"

Athena sighed, looking as if she were about to face-palm.

"After a few chapters, why don't we spend the rest of the day with our children"

Just then a note flashed in, saying "Just think of the people you want us to bring here- Apollo and the Fates"

The future demigods thought of, Clarisse(future), Chris(future), Grover(future), Rachel(future), Katie(future and past), the Stolls(past), Will(future), Beckendorf(past), Silena(past), Annabeth(past- 12).

And just like that, they appeared, all confused on why they were on Olympus, except for Clarisse, Beckendorf, and Silena, who were there earlier. After explaining to all of them what was going on, Athena said.

"Now can we please continue the story?" She asked, with mock politeness.

**"My Rescue Operation Goes Horribly Wrong,"**

**It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, and I hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. **

Thalia let out a tiny giggle, remembering Percy's mom.

**Except for my mom. She talks more when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me.**

Now Thalia really laughed. Percy just sighed and rested his head in his hands.

"You alright, Percy" Nico whispered, which Percy just nodded his head.

**Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."**

Nico snorted and looked down sadly, missing Bianca. Percy immediately noticed and gave a kiss, wrapped his arms around him and whispered, "Remember what Bianca said, plus were all here with you, you'll never be alone again", which Nico then flashed a smile at him.

**Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.**

**"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" my mother asked.**

**"No, thanks, Mom," I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."**

**"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy."**

"She always did worry too much." Poseidon muttered, wistfully. Zeus and Hades snorted as they tried to hide their laughter. After getting glares from Percy, Thalia, and Nico they stopped quickly and looked down at their laps.

**I hoped I wasn't blushing. It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my battles.**

Ares laughed.

**"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked into a ski cap and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean. **

**"We'll keep him out of trouble."**

**My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Annabeth is the most levelheaded demigod ever to hit eighth grade. **

"She must have a little sense, I guess." Athena muttered under her breath.

She's sure Annabeth often keeps me from getting killed.

She's right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

**"All right, dears," my mom said. "Do you have everything you need?"**

**"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."**

**"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"**

"Aww… What a wonderful mother… And you just have to ruin it and scare her half to death don't you?" Hera glared at Percy, who looked around incredulously, wondering if Hera knew how ridiculous she sounded. Zeus sighed and avoided eye contact with Hera. She was extremely annoying to him these days.

**"Mom—"**

**"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"**

**"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys."**

**She looked a little hurt, and I was sorry about that, but I was ready to be out of that car. If my mom told one more story about how cute I looked in the bathtub when I was three years old, **

**I was going to burrow into the snow and freeze myself to death.**

**Annabeth and Thalia followed me outside. The wind blew straight through my coat like ice daggers.**

**Once my mother's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy."**

"Very true." Nico stated.

**"She's pretty okay," I admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"**

**As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes she always wears—the ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry, the black eyeliner and those intense blue eyes. But the look she gave me now was a perfect evil "ten."**

'yea…That's me…A total badass." Thalia said smugly, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back proudly. Nico snorted and was promptly shocked with a little lightning bolt. He yelped and involuntarily hopped off the couch, landing on the hard marble floor. Thalia and Percy laughed as he got back up, groaning, and rubbing at his butt.

"That's gonna bruise. . . . And so will this." Nico muttered playfully. A shadow replced the couch underneath Thalia and she disappeared for a moment before the shadow reappeared about six feet above the floor. Thalia fell out of it and landed right on her ass. She growled and launched herself to her feet. She whipped out her mace can and thunder rumbled as it transformed into her spear. Nico snarled and his black skull ring flashed into a sword. Thalia subtly grazed her bracelet with her fingers and it spiraled into Aegis. Percy winced at the snarling face of Medusa on that shield. Nico didn't even hesitate to attack her. His sword hit the edge of her shield, creatig a spark and clang of metal. Athena and Hades jumped up.

"Hey!" They both yelled, sending each other confused and slightly weirded-out looks.

"Stop! NOW. Sit down so we can READ THE BOOK ALREADY!" She hollered. Poseidon winced as she glared. Nico and Thalia looked at each other and laughed, putting their weapons away and sitting back down on the couch.

**"If that was any of your business, Percy—"**

**"We'd better get inside," Annabeth interrupted. "Grover will be waiting."**

**Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."**

**I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," I guessed.**

**The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.**

**All I could say was, "Whoa."**

"You're an idiot sometimes…" Nico laughed. Percy just grinned. Travis and Connor, though only around 12, were starting to like these guys…Even if Nico was a little weird.

**The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.**

Nico simply shook their heads at Percy, who blushed. The Olympians were starting to like to like this trio as well. They were exactly like their fathers. While also being the complete opposite… they were the vision of what could happen if The Big Three were friendly with each other. It didn't look so bad.

**My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. **

"No comment." Nico muttered, much to the amusement of Hestia, who giggled behind her hand.

**I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.**

**Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"**

**The doors slammed shut behind us.**

"BOO!" Nico yelled, making nearly every one jump.

**"Oo-kay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."**

"Oh reallllly?" Thalia asked sarcastically.

**I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.**

"Skrillex..?" Nico mumbled hopefully.

"As amazing as that would have been, no, I don't think so Nicky." Percy laughed. Nico blushed, "Don't call me Nicky." Thalia laughed.

**We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.**

**They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.**

"Or shoved up their arses…" Thalia whispered to Nico and percy, who laughed as quietly as they could.

**"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"**

**"Um…" I realized I hadn't planned for this. I'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, I hadn't considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night. We hadn't talked at all in the car about how we would get inside. **

"Great rescue mission so far." Nico mumbled, frowning. Percy sighed sadly.

**I said, "Ma'am, we're just—"**

**"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"**

**He had an accent—French, maybe. **

**He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's.**

"You mean like this?" Nico asked, lifted his head up and opening his eyes wide. His black eyes shifted to the mismatched colors before returning to black. Percy nodded along with Thalia.

Zeus, extremely disturbed, turned to Hades. "Is that a 'child of Hades' thing or…"

"I…..honestly, have no idea…." He mumbled back, ignoring the odd looks he and Zeus were getting for their whispered conversation.

**I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something very weird. She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls. "Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade."**

**The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. I didn't know what Thalia was thinking. Now we'd probably get punished for lying and thrown into the snow. But the man seemed to be hesitating.**

**He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"**

**Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.**

Apollo and Hermes burst into laughter, soon joined by the Demi-Gods who were all-too-used to strange teacher mishaps.

**The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I… yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"**

**Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—" He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"**

**"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. **

**"What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."**

**Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made… the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"**

**Dr. Thorn glared at us. I decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"**

**We didn't wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.**

"Pshhhh… You shoulda busted out' ya nine and busted a cap off in his a-"

"THINK OF THE CHILDREN, …" Percy interrupted. Nico pouted and his lip-ring stuck out so Percy flicked it gently. "Ouch." Nico growled playfully.

**Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music.**

**I could feel the teachers' eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?"**

**"You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?" An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. Chiron was our head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown me anything like that. Why had he shown Thalia and not me?**

'JEALOUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS?" Thalia taunted.

Percy just shrugged, "Well, duh…"

**Grover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.**

**"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"**

**Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. I gave him a big high five.**

**It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.**

Nico burst into laughter, that quickly died under Athena's impatient glare.

**"So what's the emergency?" I asked.**

**Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."**

**"Two half-bloods?" **

**Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"**

"Si." Nico answered, grinning deviously.

**Grover nodded.**

**Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.**

**"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."**

**"Monsters?"**

"Correcto." Nico answered again. "Okay who turned on the Spanish channel?" Percy asked, as Nico leaned against Percy.

**One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"**

**Grover looked at Thalia desperately. I tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to me for answers, **

"JEALOU-"

"WE KNOW."

"Sheesh…"

**but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus. Thalia had more experience than any of us with fending off monsters in the real world.**

**"Right," she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"**

**Grover nodded.**

**"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"**

**"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."**

**Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.**

Nico shuddered.

**There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. **

This time Percy shuddered with him.

**Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. **

This time every male in the room shuddered. Thalia and Annabeth cracked up, sharing a smile.

**Some of the older guys looked more like me—uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true…**

"Gods, you're such a downer." Nico muttered, earning a smack on the shin from Percy.

**"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angela."**

**The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. **

"Don't say anything." Nico muttered seriously to Thalia and Percy as they tried their best not to laugh. The others were just confused.

**His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. **

**She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.**

Nico sighed. Percy pulled him into his lap.

**Annabeth said, "Do they… I mean, have you told them?"**

**Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."**

**He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch. "So let's grab them and get out of here," I said.**

**I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.**

**Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here.**

**"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."**

"That….might work…" Athena mumbled, brows furrowing.

**"How?"**

**"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."**

**"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.**

**Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"**

**Grover looked hurt. "I did."**

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

Athena's eye twitched. "And back to the story."

**"Never mind. Let's dance."**

**"But I can't dance!"**

**"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."**

**Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.**

**Annabeth smiled.**

**"What?" I asked.**

**"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back."**

**Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer, which I found kind of disturbing. **

Nico laughed and Thalia quickly shut him up with a punch.

**She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason.**

**"So…" I tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told us. When you're a half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural? "Um, design any good buildings lately?"**

**Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program…"**

**She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up—she loves math and historical buildings and all that—but I hardly understood a word she was saying.**

**The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often. It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an all-girls school, and I was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, I hardly ever saw them.**

"Mmm. All girls schools are awesome." Thalia muttered, smirking. Nico snorted, and drew a dorito from the chip bag he had somehow gotten a hold of.

"Yea, well that's probably because you're super-gay. I mean, if I was going to an all-boys' school-" Nico stated.

"Um, you are." Percy cut in. Nico smiled deviously.

"Oh, yea. Ha, and might I just say, its been….pretty…thrilling so far.." Nico waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Percy blushed and turned away from the conversation, trying to ignore the many looks of shock that were coming their way.

**"Yeah, uh, cool," I said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?"**

**Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—"**

**"Hey!" Thalia called to us. **

**She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die**

**At least his feet were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy.**

**"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."**

**I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym. **

**"Well?" Annabeth said.**

**"Um, who should I ask?"**

**She punched me in the gut. "Me, Seaweed Brain."**

**"Oh. Oh, right."**

**So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me.**

**"I'm not going to bite," she told me. "Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"**

**I didn't answer. The truth was we did. But I'd never, like, actually danced at one. I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner.**

**We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl—anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.**

**"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble at school or something?"**

**She pursed her lips. "It's not that. It's my dad."**

**"Uh-oh." I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father. "I thought it was getting better with you two. Is it your step mom again?"**

**Annabeth sighed. "He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco!'**

**She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment or Hades's gym shorts.**

"Hey!" Hades said indignantly. Zeus and Poseidon were laughing.

"So he wants you to move out there with him?" I asked.

**"To the other side of the country," she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that."**

**"What? Why not?"**

**Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought I was kidding. "You know. It's right there!'**

**"Oh," I said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn't want to sound stupid. **

"Well, that didn't work soo…" Thalia teased.

**"So… you'll go back to living at camp or what?"**

**"It's more serious than that, Percy. I… I probably should tell you something."**

**Suddenly she froze. "They're gone."**

The tense silence was broken by the sound of Percy and Nico ripping open a bag of Red Vines.

"What?"

**I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.**

**"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"**

**She ran through the crowd. I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way. I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time I was free, Annabeth had disappeared. I turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, I saw something that chilled my blood.**

"DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNN!" Nico, Percy, Thalia, Connor, Travis, Apollo, and Hermes all said at the exact same time. They shared an incredulous look before bursting into laughter.

**About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.**

**I still couldn't see Annabeth, but I knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Grover.**

**I almost ran after her, and then I thought, Wait.**

**I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall, looking at me all puzzled when I asked about the finger-snap trick: Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet? I thought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.**

**Not that I resented Thalia. She was cool. It wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention… **

"Yea, kid, its Zeus fault." Hephaestus grumbled, putting out a small fire in his beard.

**Still, I didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself.**

**I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.**

**The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. I uncapped Riptide.**

**The pen grew in my hands until I held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.**

**I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me.**

**I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."**

Nico sighed and face-palmed.

**They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial bronze weapons.**

**"My name's Percy," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."**

**Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me.**

**I whirled around and something went WHI1ISH! Pain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked me backward and slammed me to the wall.**

**I slashed with my sword but there was nothing to hit.**

**A cold laugh echoed through the hall.**

**"Yes, Perseus Jackson" Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled the J in my last name. "I know who you are."**

**I tried to free my shoulder. My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I'd felt something like this before. Poison.**

"What?" Poseidon squeaked. Zeus chuckled but hated to admit that he was worried too.

**I forced myself to concentrate. I would not pass out.**

**A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of my sword.**

**"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."**

**I tried to swing my sword again, but he was just out of reach.**

**WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.**

The Big Three paled.

**Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.**

Hades and Nico snarled.

**"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."**

Nico grumbled something about "weird creeper monsters" under his breath.

"That's the end of chapter 1." Athena muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

**"The Vice Principal Gets A Missile Launcher,"**

I didn't know what kind of monster Dr. Thorn was, but he was fast.

"He was a manticore," said Annabeth, Thalia, Artemis, Grover, and Nico.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I know that _now!"_

**Maybe I could defend myself if I could get my shield activated. All that it would take was a touch of my wristwatch. But defending the di Angelo kids was another matter. I need help, and there was only one way I could think to get it.**

**I closed my eyes.**

Artemis and Athena looked up sharply. "That will not help," she said. "Just because you cannot see the problem does not mean it is not there. How very typical of a-"

"With all due respect, Lady Athena and Artemis," Percy interrupted, "keep reading."

"**What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!"**

**I opened my eyes and kept shuffling forward. "It's my shoulder," I lied, trying to sound miserable, which wasn't hard. "It burns."**

"It burns!" said Thalia, pretending to shriek in pain. "It burns! It burns!"

"Shut up," snapped Percy.

"**Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"**

**Thorn herded us outside, and I tried to concentrate. I pictured Grover's face. I focused on my feelings of fear and danger.**

"Empathy link, smart of him to remember." Athena muttered.

Last summer, Grover had created an empathy link between us.

**He'd sent me visions in my dreams to let me know when he was in trouble. As far as I knew, we were still linked, but I'd never tried to contact Grover before. I didn't even know if it would work while Grover was awake.**

_**Hey, Grover! **_**I thought. **_**Thorn's kidnapping us! He's a poisonous spike-throwing maniac! Help!**_

"That won't work." Athena said.

**Thorn marched us into the woods. We took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashionedlamplights. My shoulder ached. The wind blowing through my ripped clothes was so cold I felt like a Percysicle.**

"**There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."**

"**What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"**

"**Silence, you insufferable girl!"**

"**Don't talk to my sister that way!" Nico said. His voice quivered, but I was surprised he had the guts to say anything at all.**

Nico and Hades looked a bit proud hearing this.

**Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, but I forced myself to keep walking and pretend I was being a good little captive. Meanwhile, I projected my thoughts like crazy—anything to get Grover's attention. **_**Grover! Apples! Tin cans! Get your furry goat behind out here and bring some heavily armed friends!**_

"**Halt," Thorn said.**

**The woods had opened up. We'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, I **_**sensed **_**the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. I could hear the waves churning and I could smell the cold salty froth. But all I could see was mist and darkness.**

**Dr. Thorn pushed us towards the edge. I stumbled, and Bianca caught me.**

"**Thanks," I murmured.**

"**What **_**is**_** he?" She whispered. "How do we fight him?"**

Artemis and Athena smiled proudly at the girl's question.

"**I…I'm working on it."**

"**I'm scared," Nico mumbled.**

"Wimp" Ares said

**He was fiddling with something—a little metal toy soldier of some kind.**

"Which one was it?"Percy asked, grinning, remembering what he said to him, after the Labyrinth.

Nico thought for a moment. Then his eyes widened. "It was…my _Artemis _figurine."

Thalia raised her eyebrows. "That's just freaky," she said.

"**Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"**

**We turned.**

**Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first I thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package—it is ready to deliver."**

At this, Thalia burst out laughing. "Seriously?" she said. "'The package is ready to deliver'? How much more cliché evil villain can you get?"

Shaking her head slightly at her future-to-be-lieutenant's antics, Artemis resumed reading.

**There was a garbled reply, and I realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way too modern and creepy—a monster using a mobile phone.**

**I glanced behind me, wondering how far the drop was.**

**Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. **_**Jump! **_**There is the sea. Save yourself."**

"**What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.**

"**I'll explain later," I said.**

"**You do have a plan, right?"**

Annabeth snorted. "Percy _never _has a plan."

_**Grover! **_**I thought desperately. **_**Come to me!**_

"Come to me, children of the night," said Thalia in a bad Dracula imitation.

"Seeing as you serve the moon goddess, I wouldn't talk," retorted Percy.

**Maybe I could get both the di Angelos to jump with me into the ocean. If we survived the fall, I could use the water to protect us. I'd done things like that before. If my dad was in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe.**

"**I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said, as if reading my thoughts. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"**

**A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to me it nicked my ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flexible…almost like a tail.**

"**Unfortunately," Thorns said. "You are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."**

"**Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I…" Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."**

Hades stared at the floor, guilty.

Glancing up, Artemis thought she saw a tear form in the corner of Nico's eye, but she refrained from mentioning it. While Percy pulled him into his lap, wrapping his arms around him.

"**Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."**

"**Luke," I said. "You work for Luke."**

**Dr. Thorn mouth twisted with distaste when I said the name of my old enemy—a former friend who'd tried to kill me several times. "You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you.**

"I'm all for general enlightenment," Annabeth and Athena said, "But that's not quite what I mean."

"Mother, like daughter." Hestia said, which made them both smile.

"**You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."**

"**The General?" I asked. Then I realized I'd said it with a French accent. "I mean…who's the General?"**

**Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."**

**I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.**

"**Where are you taking us?" Nico said.**

"**You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."**

"**They're not dolls! They're figurines!**

"That's right, Nico," sighed Thalia. "Defend Mythomagic first."

"**And you can take your great army and-"**

"**Now now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well…there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."**

"**The Great what?" I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to figure out a plan.**

"**The Stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years.**

"Like Bessie," said Percy, smiling at the memory of the cow serpent.

"**They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known.**

"**And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!**

"**Okay," Bianca whispered to me. "He's completely nuts."**

"**We have to jump off the cliff," I told her quietly. "Into the sea."**

"**Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts too."**

"Smart girl," said Annabeth.

**I never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into me.**

**Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant. Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and me, knocking us to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.**

**If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened.**

"So you do look up to me" Thalia said

**She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. He shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.**

**Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.**

**Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"**

**I though Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread.**

Zeus grimaced at that.**  
**

**As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.**

**The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me, but I didn't dare look.**

**Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time I could see how he did it. He had a tail—a leathery, scorpionlike tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.**

**Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow.**

"Green grass breaks through snow…" said Thalia innocently which caused Artemis to groan, Percy, Nico and Grover to laugh, and Annabeth and Rachel to look at each other with confused expressions. Annabeth also looked distinctly annoyed. She hated not knowing things.

**Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping** **around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.**

**Dr. Thorn roared and began to change.**

**He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.**

"**A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. **

"Oh no!"Athena gasped, now worried for her favorite daughter.**  
**

Poseidon was panting, worrying very deeping for his son's safety. But managed to say, "And you say I'm too overprotective over their child."

Athena glared at him and was about to say something, but then a big encyclopedia hit Poseidon square in the face.

"OW! Where the heck did that come from?" Poseidon glared at Athena who was stunned. "It… wasn't me."

Percy felt a small vibration in his pocket and found it was magic scroll that allowed them to contact the Fates. He opened it and waited for the message to appear.

Dear Poseidon,

So sorry dear. Athena found out about the plans we (meaning the Fates and Rhea) are doing. She found out Apollo's in on it too and she doesn't seem happy. Unfortunately, she decided to make books chase after Apollo. Unfortunately again, one got through our magic portal thingy. I guess one of the Fates (I don't know which one was responsible) thought it would be funny if someone got hit in the face with it. Looks like it happened to hit you in the face. Really sorry about that. Hope you're ok sweetie.

Love, Mommy.

Percy nodded his head as he folded up the scroll and stuck it into his pocket again. He looked up to see his father smiling goofily. Zeus and Hades were looking at Poseidon with what seemed to be jealousy. Percy nudged Annabeth who nudged Will who then nudged Rachel. Rachel looked at Percy who mouthed one word.

Read!

**Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into us.**

"**Who **_**are **_**you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is **_**that?"**_

"**A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"**

Everyone looked at Nico strangely. He reddened slightly and said, "What? It was the first thing that popped into my head!"

**I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned towards us with a snarl.**

"**Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, I remembered my own shield. I hit my wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from my brother, was badly damaged. I wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.**

**I heard a **_**thwack**_** and a yelp, and Grover landed next to me with a thud.**

"**Yield!" the monster roared.**

"**Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, I thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the side that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster?**

Thalia shrugged**. **"Well, they were already working with politicians…"

**The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.**

"**No!" I ran out to help her. I parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. I raised my shield over us, but I knew it wouldn't be enough.**

**Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."**

**We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. We had no chance.**

All the gods, except Ares and Dionysus gave them sympathetic looks.

**Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.**

Artemis read the last line with a slight smile.

"Here comes the cavalry," said Thalia, grinning at her goddess.

"Yeah, Thalia," said Percy. "Because you were so grateful."

Thalia flinched and let the subject drop.

**The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind, and the chopping of the helicopter blades.**

"**No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be-"**

**His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.**

"Traditional warning shot," muttered Thalia under her breath, seemingly unable to help herself from analyzing the fight.

**He staggered backward, wailing in agony. "Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spines, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and cut them in two, but my eyes must have been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy.**

Thalia gave a derogatory snort. "Please," she scoffed. "We could teach the Apollo kids a thing or two."

**The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. I tried to swipe at him with my sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged my attack and slammed his tail into my shield, knocking me aside.**

**Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten.**

"Eight," Thalia corrected him. "Physically, at least."

**The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.**

"**The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.**

**Next to me, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."**

"Your gratitude is overwhelming, Thalia," said Artemis.

Her tone was teasing, but Thalia still flinched slightly. "Sorry," she muttered, shamefaced.

Artemis chuckled, shook her head affectionately, and continued reading.

**I didn't have a chance to ask what she meant.**

**One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful, with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess.**

Artemis gave a quiet laugh at this. "She did, rather, didn't she?" she said, more to herself than anyone else. "But moving on…"

"**Permission to kill, my lady?"**

**I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.**

**The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."**

"**Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen.**

"Good guess, Percy!" said Thalia brightly. "You were only off by a few thousand years!"

**She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail, and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon.**

"So you do notice some things, after all!" said Annabeth approvingly.

**Her face was so beautiful it made me catch my breath,**

Cocking an eyebrow, Artemis told him, "You're too kind." Her expression was mostly unreadable, but she didn't seem angry. Gods tended to be suckers for honest compliments.

**But her expression was stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoë, permission granted."**

**The monster growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"**

**He lunged at Thalia and me, knowing we were weak and dazed. "No!" Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.**

"**Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"**

**But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane.**

**The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth held on for dear life.  
**

Athena started to pale and shake, while trying to figure out how she survived, since she was in the room, well and alive.

"**Fire!" Zoë ordered.**

"**No!" I screamed.**

**But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered back, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"**

"They usually say something along those lines," Thalia said.

**And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.**

Athena looked towards Percy, and gave him a deadly glare, saying, "you better be glad you're her friend, or you'd be incinerated"

"**Annabeth!" I yelled. I started to run after her, but our enemies weren't done with us.**

"Enemies?" said Artemis in a low, deadly tone, furious light dancing in her eyes. "Truly, Percy Jackson? After we had just saved your life?"

Percy's eyes widened. "Not you!" he said hastily. "I think I meant the mortals. In the helicopter?" He was very much hoping that this was the case.

**There was a **_**snap-snap-snap **_**from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.**

**Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with the auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.**

"**Mortals," she announced, "Are not allowed to witness my hunt."**

**She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.**

**The Hunters advanced on us.**

**The one called Zoë stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.**

"**Zoë Nightshade," Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."**

**Zoë scanned the rest of us. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."**

"**Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."**

"**Annabeth!" I yelled. "You have to let us save her!"**

**The auburn-haired girl turned toward me. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help."**

**I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of the girls held me down.**

"**You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl said.**

"Actually," said Nico hesitantly to Artemis, "Since he's a son of Poseidon, wouldn't being in the sea help him?"

"I would not know. I am not a son of Poseidon," the goddess responded, looking at Percy. "I was under the impression, however, that while the ocean would no doubt be beneficial at first, he would exhaust himself in attempting to find you, and I did not think it a good idea to allow him to do this, when I knew that you were no longer there."

"**Let me go!" I demanded. "Who do you think you are?"**

Annabeth groaned. "You actually _said _that?" she said incredulously.

**Zoë stepped forward as if to smack me.**

"Ah," said Artemis, smiling slightly. "That's what she did."

"What do you mean?" asked Percy. "I mean, you stopped her. You must have seen her."

Artemis shook her head, smile becoming more pronounced. "Zoë had been a dear companion for over two thousand years. If I could not predict her responses in that time…"

"**No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoë. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."**

"Alert the media," Thalia said to Annabeth in a stage whisper. "Percy doesn't understand something!"

**The young girl looked up at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."**


	3. Chapter 3

Artemis handed the book to Rachel.

**"Bianca di Angleo Makes a Choice"**Rachel read.

Nico grimaced. Yeah, he thought. The wrong choice.

**After seeing Dr. Thorn turn into a monster and plummet off the edge of a cliff with Annabeth, you'd think nothing else could shock me. But when this twelve-year-old girl told me she was the goddess Artemis, I said something real intelligent like, "Um… okay."**

Apollo and Hermes chuckled at his antics.

Thalia grinned. "That really isn't very surprising. Percy always answers like that."

The ones who knew him laughed.

**That was nothing compared to Grover. **

Nico and Percy snickered, remembering what Grover did.

**He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow!"**

Everyone was desperately trying to contain their laughter, though all the gods fell out their thrones holding their sides. While the goddess' tried to keep their dignity and stay on their thrones.

**"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"**

**"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."**

**Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who… who are you people?"**

"Well I'm Travis Stroll."

"And I'm Connor Stroll."

Clarisse sighed. "Nobody cares, so shut up and let Rachel read."

"Fine." The brothers grumbled.

**Artemis's expression softened."It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you!Who are your parents?"**

**Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.**

"I was not," grumbled Nico.

The others looked at him. No further comment was necessary.

**Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but…"**

**She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her.**

**"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."**

"At least," Nico muttered. "The truth that we know."

**"You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."**

**"An Olympian… athlete?"**

Everyone snorted.

**"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."**

**"Cool!" said Nico.**

**"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"**

**Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. **

Everyone burst out laughing as Nico blushed beet red.

"I did not." he complained.

"Sure you didn't, Nicki." Percy said, ruffling his hair.

Nico swatted his hand away, and huffed, beet red.

**"Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—" **

**"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? **

**There are no gods!"**

**As anxious as I felt about Annabeth—all I wanted to do was search for her—I couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. I remembered what it was like for me when I first learned I was a demigod. **

Nico gave a small smiles, appreciating how much Percy cared for him.

Aphrodite looked like she was going to squeal, on how much love Nico was radiating towards Percy.

**Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. **

**"Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous."**

**"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who fell."**

Everyone winced.

**Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.**

**"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."**

**"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" I asked.**

"That'd be nice to know" Athena grumbled.

**"She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."**

**I still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for her, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right. Annabeth was gone. If she'd been down there in the sea, I thought, I'd be able to feel her presence.**

**"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. **

Nico face-palmed as the others snickered.

**"What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"**

**"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."**

**"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.**

**Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?"**

**"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."**

**"That's why Grover has been watching you," I said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."**

**"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"**

**"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. I thought Bianca was going to faint right there.**

"She did look like that." Thalia agreed.

Nico nodded. "It freaked me out, too."

Grover just huffed in annoyance.

**"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."**

**"Hey, my hooves are clean!"**

"So not the point Goat-boy." Annabeth laughed with the others as Grover blushed.

**"Bianca," I said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."**

**"Camp?" she asked.**

**"Camp Half-Blood," I said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."**

**"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.**

**"Wait," Bianca shook her head. "I don't—"**

**"There is another option," Zoe said.**

Nico crossed his arms and growled.

Percy and Hades looked at him, worried.

**"No, there isn't!" Thalia said.**

**Thalia and Zoe glared at each other. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I could tell there was bad history between them. For some reason, they seriously hated each other.**

**"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."**

**"Yes, my lady."**

**"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."**

Nico pulled his knees to his chest, and put his chin on his legs. Then started to sob hysterically, when he remembered his sister.

Percy immediately pulled him into his lap, while wrapping one arm around him and the other was rubbing circles on his back. And was whispering comforting words in his ear to calm him down.

When Nico did actually calm down, Percy pulled him in for a quick kiss to let him know that he will always be there for him. Which made Nico smile.

After Nico was calm and it was okay to read, Rachel did so.

**"What about me?" Nico asked.**

**Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"**

**Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"**

**Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff.**

Nico frowned at how easily distracted he was. If he stayed, would Bianca still be here?

**Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp. Zoe gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.**

**As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so… Argh!"**

Nico gave a small snort.

"Kinda ironic now." Hermes, Apollo, Percy and Nico said.

Thalia glared at them. "Shut it."

**"I'm with you," I said. "I don't trust—" **

**"Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on me furiously. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster! If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved. Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?"**

"It technically isn't his fault, wouldn't you have done the same" Demeter said.

"Yeah, I probably would"

**My jaw clenched. I thought of some harsh things to say, and I might've said them too, but then I looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at my feet. Annabeth's New York Yankees baseball cap.**

**Thalia didn't say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving me alone with a trampled cap in the snow.**

**The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but I decided I would stick close to the tents. **

**Falcons watched us from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and I got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire. Almost… except for the pain in my shoulder and the guilt weighing me down. I couldn't believe Annabeth was gone. And as angry as I was at Thalia, I had a sinking feeling that she was right. It was my fault.**

Nico rolled his eyes. That's Percy. Blaming himself on everything, even if it wasn't even his fault.

**What had Annabeth wanted to tell me in the gym? Something serious, she'd said. Now I might never find out. I thought about how we'd danced together for half a song, and my heart felt even heavier.**

**I watched Thalia pacing in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the woods. I wondered what she was thinking.**

**Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in order to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. She'd only been back as a human for a few months now, and once in a while she would stand so motionless you'd think she was still a tree.**

Nico nodded. He's seen that too.

**Finally, one of the Hunters brought me my backpack. Grover and Nico came back from their walk, and Grover helped me fix up my wounded arm.**

**"It's green!" Nico said with delight.**

There was laughter once again as Nico blushed.

**"Hold still," Grover told me. "Here, eat some ambrosia while I clean that out." ****I winced as he dressed the wound, but the ambrosia square helped. It tasted like homemade brownie, dissolving in my mouth and sending a warm feeling through my whole body. **

"Ambrosia." The Stoll brothers, Apollo, Hermes sighed.

"Boys" Artemis muttered.

**Between that and the magic salve Grover used, my shoulder felt better within a couple of minutes.**

**Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, I didn't know. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. **

"Figurines." Nico muttered absent mindly as the others raised an eyebrow at him.

**I recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.**

**"Big collection," I said.**

**Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."**

"Like Dad." Nico mumbled.

**"You've been playing this game a long time?"**

**"Just this year. Before that…" He knit his eyebrows.**

**"What?" I asked.**

**"I forget. That's weird."**

Percy looked at Nico, knowing why.

Stupid Lotus Hotel. Nico thought, glaring at nothing.

Hades looked at the floor guilty, wondering why he didn't take them out of there earlier.

**He looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"**

**I showed him Riptide, and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword just by uncapping it.**

**"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"**

Nico buried his face in his hands. He knew what was coming.

Everyone started laughing at his hyper, past self.

**"Um, well, I don't actually write with it."**

**"Are you really the son of Poseidon?"**

**"Well, yeah."**

**"Can you surf really well, then?"**

Everyone laughed again.

"Really?" Chris laughed, amused.

Nico shrugged, a little red in the face.

**I looked at Grover, who was trying hard not to laugh.**

**"Jeez, Nico," I said. "I've never really tried."**

**He went on asking questions. Did I fight a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? **

"Yes." Nico said, answering his own question.

**(I didn't answer that one.) If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Annabeth know better than to fall off a cliff? **

Annabeth glared at Nico who quickly muttered an apology.

**(I tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one.) Was Annabeth my girlfriend?  
**

"No, because I'm already dating someone" Percy said lovingly, while looking at Nico

Who in turn blushed at that comment.

**(At this point, I was ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves.) **

"Harsh." Nico pouted, as everyone else laughed.

"Sorry" Percy whispered to him.

**I figured any second he was going to ask me how many hit points I had, **

"I wouldn't have asked that. As if he'd ever get a card/figurine in Mythomagic." Nico said.

"I'd probably would, considering all that has happened" Percy said.

"Maybe everyone in the books would get one! That would be pretty cool!" Nico said, then blushed as everyone snickered. "Er...I mean...um..."

**and I'd lose my cool completely, but then Zoe Nightshade came up to us. "Percy Jackson."**

**She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty that I had to resist the urge to sit up straight and say "Yes, ma'am." **

"She probably would have liked you better if you did that." Thalia said, still chuckling at Nico's reaction.

**She studied me distastefully, like I was a bag of dirty laundry she'd been sent to fetch.**

**"Come with me," she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."**

**Zoe led me to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved me inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to the auburn-haired girl, who I still had trouble thinking of as Artemis. The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others I didn't recognize. I figured an animal rights activist would've had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins, but maybe since Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, she could replenish whatever she shot. I thought she had another animal pelt lying next to her, and then I realized it was a live animal—a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap.**

**"Join us, Percy Jackson," the goddess said.**

**I sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied me, which made me uncomfortable. She had such old eyes for a young girl.**

**"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.**

"Probably" Hermes stated.

**"Uh… a little."**

**"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."**

**"Go astray?" I asked.**

**"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."**

**"Oh."**

**Zoe sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at me as if all the stuff Artemis had just said was my fault, like I'd invented the idea of being a guy. **

Everyone snickered.

**"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?"**

**"That boy in Colorado," Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope."**

**"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, Percy, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the… mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from you."**

**And so I told her.**

**When I was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was the answer."**

**Zoe sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"**

**"Yes."**

**"What scent?" I asked.**

**"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."**

**She stared at me intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."**

**"Um, 'I hate middle school dances."  
**

Annabeth put up a hand for Rachel to stop. She carefully took the book from the Oracle, turned, smiling to Percy, and hit him over the head with all 312 pages as hard as she could.

"OW!"

Annabeth handed Rachel the book back, and she kept reading.

**"No, no. After that."**

**"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me."**

**Zoe's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand.**

**"Go on, Percy," the goddess said.**

**"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot—"**

**"Stirring," Bianca corrected.**

"She just learned that she was a demigod and she already knew more that him." Apollo snickered.

**"Yeah. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"**

**The goddess was so still she could've been a statue.**

**"Maybe he was lying," I said. **

**Artemis shook her head. "No. He was not. I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."**

**Zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady."**

**"No, Zoe. I must do this alone."**

**"But, Artemis—"**

**"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."**

**"As…as you wish, my lady."**

**I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."**

**"You know what the monster is?" I asked.**

******Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong."**

**"Can goddesses pray?" I asked, because I'd never really thought about that.**

Nico face-palmed.

"How are you still alive?" Hephaestus asked

Percy just shrugged.

**A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you."**

**"Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?"**

Everyone snorted.

**"Sadly, no. **

"Too bad," Nico teased. "I bet you would have made a cute jackalope."

"…Thanks?" Percy really didn't know how to respond to that.

"You did make a cute guinea pig," Annabeth pointed out.

Artemis gave Percy a calculating look. "Lady Artemis?" he said nervously. "Um, what are you-"

Artemis smiled. There was a _pop_, and Percy disappeared. In his place was a silky black rabbit with perfect miniature antlers. The jackalope looked around, then gave a great panicked thump of his huge back foot and bolted for cover. Nico grabbed him as he tried to run past, and the Percy-lope calmed down slightly and curled in his lap after a brief struggle.

Artemis seemed very pleased with her work. "A twelve-point buck," she said, mildly impressed. "I've not seen such a fine specimen in nearly two hundred years."

The assembled non-deities stared at the goddess in shock.

Glancing up, she noticed the horrified expression on her lieutenant's face. "Oh, don't look at me like that, Thalia," she said. "It's not permanent."

Nico then spoke up nervously. "Ah…lady Artemis? Could you…change him back? Please?"

Artemis sighed. "I suppose…it almost seems a shame, however. He is _such _a fine jackalope…but, if you're sure…" she waved her hand. There was another _pop, _and Nico's arms were suddenly thrown around a demigod instead of a rabbit. Percy then curled back into Nico, who had his arms around him protectively.

"Keep reading, my dear," said Artemis to Rachel.

**I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."**

**"What?" Zoe' blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"**

"What did happened." Percy asked.

Nico shrugged.

**"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."**

**Zoe muttered something about foolish campers.**

Nico muttered something about foolish Hunters.

"You understood her?" Artemis said, surprised.

Percy jumped, looking terrified at being addressed by Artemis after his recent…incident. "Y...yes?"

Artemis seemed amused by his reaction. "That was a rather old dialect of Ancient Greek," she explained. "That you understood her is rather impressive."

**"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"**

Nico looked down.

**Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."**

**"Wait," I said. "Thinking about what?"**

**"They… they've invited me to join the Hunt." **

**"What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive."**

**"It is not the only way for a girl," Zoe said.**

**I couldn't believe I was hearing this. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and… I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?"**

**"To begin with," Zoe said, "immortality."**

**I stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"**

**"Zoe rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal… unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely.**

"Yeah, super unlikely." Nico muttered.

**Or break their oath."**

**"What oath?" I said.**

**"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."**

**"Like you?"**

**The goddess nodded.**

**I tried to imagine what she was saying. Being immortal. Hanging out with only middle-school girls forever. I couldn't get my mind around it. **

"Neither can I." Chris, Hermes, and Apollo mumbled.

**"So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"**

**"Not just half-bloods," Zoe interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"**

**"Which are you, then?"**

**Anger flashed in Zoe's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."**

**"Bianca, this is crazy," I said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."**

Nico looked down. He wasn't sure if he should be happy that Percy mentioned him, or angry that Bianca still chose to be a Hunter when Percy mentioned him.

"Sorry" Percy whispered.

"Not you fault, but thanks" Nico whispered back.

**"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."**

"Hey!" all the boys protested, sans Nico who was still down, knowing what was coming.

**"Hey!" I protested.**

**"You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca.**

Nico looked down. It was true...just not the same. He couldn't hug her.

**"But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."**

**"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. **

Nico frowned. What was wrong with her old family?

**"Free of responsibility." **

**"Bianca, you can't do this," I said. "It's nuts."**

**She looked at Zoe. "Is it worth it?"**

**Zoe nodded. "It is."**

Again Nico frowned and was comforted by Percy, Thalia and Annabeth.

**"What do I have to do?"**

**"Say this," Zoe told her, "'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'"**

**"I… I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."**

Nico winced. He looked like he would give anything to stop his sister from saying those words.

**"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"**

**Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?"**

**Zoe nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding."**

**"I accept it," Artemis said.**

**The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel… stronger."**

Thalia said, "Yeah, it's an awesome feeling."

**"Welcome, sister," Zoe said.**

She's not your sister. Nico thought bitterly. She's mine.

**"Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "It is now your life."**

**I couldn't speak. I felt like a trespasser. And a complete failure. I couldn't believe I'd come all this way and suffered so much only to lose Bianca to some eternal girls' club.**

**"Do not despair, Percy Jackson," Artemis said. "You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."**

"It's not like I can go anywhere else." Nico said, bitterly.

"You know you can always come over to my house"

"Yeah, I know. But sometimes its not always the same"

"I know, but I'll always be there for you, just remember that, okay"

Nico gave him a smile.

**"Great," I said, trying not to sound surly. "How are we supposed to get there?"**

**Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."**

Thalia, Percy, and Nico frowned remembering what was going to happen next.

**Zoe didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her.**

**As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of me. "I'm sorry, Percy. But I want this. I really, really do."**

Nico looked down again. This was just not his chapter.

**Then she was gone, and I was left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess.**

**"So," I said glumly. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"**

**Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. **

**It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo." **

"I'm not annoying." Nico muttered to himself.

"No your not, and you never will be" Percy whispered to him, not wanting him to be in a depressing mood.


	4. Chapter 4

"Since it's almost noon, after this chapter we'll eat then spend the rest of the day with your parents" Athena said

"**Thalia Torches New England,"** Annabeth began."

"Oh great, Apollo's going to let Thalia drive his Sun Chariot, she should do fine, so why would she torch New England" Zeus wondered

Thalia groaned. "Great, I completely forgot about this."

The others looked confused while Nico and Percy tried to hide their laughing. The result was getting shocked by Thalia.

**Artemis assured us that dawn was coming, but you could've fooled me. It was colder and darker and snowier than ever. **

"Hmm, maybe it needs to be warmer up there." Mumbled Apollo

**Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely lightless. I wondered if the teachers had even noticed the di Angelos and Dr. Thorn were missing yet. I didn't want to be around when they did. With my luck, the only name Mrs. Gottschalk would remember was "Percy Jackson," and then I'd be the subject of a nationwide manhunt… again.**

Poseidon started to pale, he almost looked like he was going to pass out, when he remembered what happened in the first book.

**The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set it up. I stood shivering in the snow (unlike the Hunters, who didn't seem to feel at all uncomfortable),**

"Enchanted jackets," Thalia said smugly.

**and Artemis stared into the east like she was expecting something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico. I could tell from his gloomy face that she was explaining her decision to join the Hunt. I couldn't help thinking how selfish it was of her, abandoning her brother like that.**

Nico sighed. "I have to agree, but since she really wanted to I guess its okay."

Percy smiled slightly and patted his hand. "She still loved you, just like I do" He whispered to him. Nico smiled and blushed, and him gave a small nod.

**Thalia and Grover came up and huddled around me, anxious to hear what had happened in my audience with the goddess.**

**When I told them, Grover turned pale. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well."**

**"How'd they even show up here?" I wondered. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere."**

**"And Bianca **_**joined**_** them," Thalia said, disgusted. "It's all Zoe's fault. That stuck-up, no good—"**

"And to think you joined them." Rachel joked. The others laughed while Thalia smiled sheepishly.

**"Who can blame her?" Grover said. "Eternity with Artemis?" He heaved a big sigh.**

"Wow goat-boy." Annabeth and Thalia said.

**Thalia rolled her eyes. "You satyrs. You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that she'll never love you back?"**

**"But she's so… into nature," Grover swooned.**

Everyone laughed again.

**"You're nuts," said Thalia.**

**"Nuts and berries," Grover said dreamily. "Yeah."**

"Well seeing a satyr in love is a little weird." Travis said.

**Finally the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."**

**"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" I asked.**

"Duh." Clarisse said. "He is the god of the _Sun."_

**"For my brother. Yes."**

**I didn't want to be rude. I mean, I knew the legends about Apollo—or sometimes Helios—driving a big sun chariot across the sky. But I also knew that the sun was really a star about a zillion miles away. **

"Seriously. You think he would've known by now." Annabeth sighed.

**I'd gotten used to some of the Greek myths being true, but still… I didn't see how Apollo could drive the sun.**

"That's because I'm so awesome" Apollo said.

**"It's not exactly as you think," Artemis said, like she was reading my mind.**

**"Oh, okay." I started to relax. "So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a—"**

**There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.**

**"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."**

_**Parks?**_

There was a short laugh from everyone.

**I averted my eyes, and saw that the other kids were doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until my winter coat felt like it was melting off of me. Then suddenly the light died.**

**I looked. And I couldn't believe it. It was **_**my**_** car. **

"No way! He has a car? Lucky." Connor said dreamily.

**Well, the car I wanted, anyway. A red convertible Maserati Spider. **

"Oh." Connor blushed.

"Still it's a nice car and I want it." Travis swooned.

**It was so awesome it glowed. Then I realized it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why I was now standing on green grass and my shoes were wet.**

"Ughh, I hate wet shoes." Nico whined. "There so uncomfortable."

**The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and for a second, I had the uneasy feeling it was Luke, my old enemy. **

Thalia, Annabeth, and Hermes winced.

**This guy had the same sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. But it wasn't Luke. This guy was taller, with no scar on his face like Luke's. His smile was brighter and more playful. (Luke didn't do much more than scowl and sneer these days.) The Maserati driver wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.**

**"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."**

Apollo smiled a bright smile, literally. His teeth were so white it nearly blinded the demigods except Will and Beckendorf.

"Ack!" Nico yelled. "Turn off that light! I'm a child of the shadows. Me and light do NOT go  
together!" Apollo stopped the brilliantness of the smile and pouted.

"Some people just don't appreciate my brightness." All the gods rolled their eyes at the bad  
pun. Percy rubbed his eyes.

Nico blushed at all the stares he got. "I'm not a peppy person, people. Deal with it." Percy  
and Thalia exchanged sly smiles.

"Oh yeah? If I remember correctly, you were bouncing on your feet when you found out you were a  
demigod." Thalia said.

"And you asked me a hell of a lot of questions, ridiculous ones at that and I recall you  
blabbering about some game with dolls." Percy quipped.

"Those were action figures. NOT dolls!" Nico protested. He was red in the face after recalling  
his enthusiasm. Percy and Thalia still had the sly smiles on their faces.

"You didn't deny how you acted when you found out you were a demigod." The two said in unison.  
By that time, Nico was as red as a ripe strawberry. Everyone was snickering at the son of  
Hades.

"Shut up."

**"He's the sun god," I said.**

**"That's not what I meant."**

**"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"**

**Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your **_**little**_** sister."**

"Ughh, not again." Thalia groaned.

**"Hey, I was born first."**

Artemis gritted her teeth. "_That_," she said tersely, "is just a lie. I was born first. I know this, because I helped _deliver_ my brother!" She paused. "In retrospect, this was my first mistake."

**"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—?"**

"Probably several more." Muttered Hades.

**"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"**

"No." Thalia huffed looking annoyed.

**Artemis gritted her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, **_**alone**_**. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."**

**"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a **_**stop everything**_** gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."**

Everyone who heard it groaned, while the others looked confused.

**The Hunters all groaned. Apparently they'd met Apollo before.**

Artemis sighed. "Far too many times."

**He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.**

_**"Green grass breaks through snow.**_

_**Artemis pleads for my help.**_

_**I am so cool."**_

"He sounds like he has an ego." Katie mused.

**He grinned at us, waiting for applause.**

**"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.**

**Apollo frowned. "Was it?"**

**"Yes. What about **_**I am so big-headed**_**?"**

Everyone started to laugh and fall off their seats, while holding their sides.

**"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself.**

"Did he even notice that you insulted him?" Thalia asked.

"Knowing my brother, I doubt it."

"Hey!" Apollo said.

Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus snickered at that.

**Zoe Nightshade turned to us. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan.'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, **_**There once was a goddess from Sparta**_**—"**

**"I've got it!" Apollo announced. "**_**I am so awesome**_**. That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself.**

**"And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."**

**"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."**

**"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see… Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."**

**Thalia blushed. **

Thalia frowned. "I did not!"

"Yeah you did." Grover, Percy and Nico said.

Thalia turned to the them and glared. "Shut up!" she said shocking them.

"Ow!"

**"Hi, Lord Apollo."**

**"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half-sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time—"**

**"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."**

**"Oh, right." Then he looked at me, and his eyes narrowed. "Percy Jackson?"**

**"Yeah. I mean… yes, sir."**

Annabeth, Nico, Clarisse, Katie, Travis, Connor, Silena, Beckendorf, Rachel, and Thalia stared at the book in awe.

"What?" Hermes asked.

"He actually showed respect to a god. I've never seen him do that before." Nico stuttered out.

**It seemed weird calling a teenager "sir," but I'd learned to be careful with immortals. They tended to get offended easily. Then they blew stuff up.**

Artemis scoffed. "Apollo couldn't care less what you called him, as long as you let him recite his poems."

Nico grinned. "He has a point there."

**Apollo studied me, but he didn't say anything, which I found a little creepy.**

Connor nodded. "That would be creepy."

"Very very creepy." Travis agreed.

**"Well!" he said at last. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way—west. And if you miss it, you miss it."**

**I looked at the Maserati, which would seat two people max. There were about twenty of us.**

**"Cool car," Nico said.**

**"Thanks, kid," Apollo said.**

Nico frowned. "I'm not a kid."

"Yeah you are." Thalia said while Nico frowned at her.

**"But how will we all fit?"**

**"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"**

"Who would?" The Stolls asked.

**He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. **_**Chirp, chirp**_**.**

**For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses like we used for school basketball games.**

**"Right," he said. "Everybody in."**

**Zoe ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."**

Thalia laughed. "Zoe did not like that."

**Zoe recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.**

**"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do **_**not**_** call them sweetheart."**

**Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. **

"I thought Apollo was the god of _truth_!" Nico exclaimed.

**Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"**

**"Hunting," Artemis said. "It's none of your business."**

**"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."**

Annabeth (being the daughter of the Goddess of Wisdom) burst out laughing.

Rachel (being the Oracle of Delphi) glared at her.

Annabeth quickly regained her composure. "Sorry."

**Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"**

**"No, no! I never mess around."**

The gods and demigods who met Apollo started to laugh at this.

**Artemis rolled her eyes, and then looked at us. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoe, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."**

**Zoe straightened. "Yes, my lady."**

**Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."**

Nico frowned. "I still can't believe that Be-..Well you know who I'm talking about, is the beast."

Annabeth, Thalia, and Percy nodded in agreement while the others looked at them curiously.

**She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.**

**Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"**

Artemis turned very slowly to Thalia."He didn't," she breathed. "Tell me he didn't."

"He didn't?" Thalia said hesitantly.

Artemis groaned. "Now tell me the _truth._"

Thalia sighed. "He did."

**The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and the rest of us highly infectious males, Bianca sat with them, leaving her little brother to hang in the front with us, which seemed cold to me, but Nico didn't seem to mind.**

**"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"**

"He knows more than Percy did at the beginning." Annabeth laughed.

Thalia nodded. "That's for sure."

**"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."**

**"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"**

**Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. **

"Use to?" Commented Poseidon

**Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans **_**think**_** about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun… er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human **_**dreams**_** about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"**

"Huh?" Connor, and Travis asked.

"He meant-"Annabeth started, but Clarisse interrupted. "Don't even bother. They wouldn't understand anyway."

"Hey!" The boys protested, but Annabeth just smiled and continued reading.

**Nico shook his head. "No."**

**"Well then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."**

**"Can I drive?"**

**"No. Too young."**

**"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand.**

**"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry."**

Everyone laughed while Grover blushed to his Adam's apple.

**He looked past me and focused on Thalia.**

**"Daughter of Zeus!" he said. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."**

**"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."**

Grover, Percy, and Nico shuddered remembering what happened next.

**"C'mon," Apollo said. "How old are you?"**

**Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."**

**It was sad, but true. She'd been turned into a tree when she was twelve, but that had been seven years ago. So she should be nineteen, if you went by years. But she still felt like she was twelve, and if you looked at her, she seemed somewhere in between. The best Chiron could figure, she had kept aging while in tree form, but much more slowly.**

Thalia frowned. "How did he know that?"

Rachel shrugged. "Your cousins and he cares for you, which means he paid attention to you because he was worried, and we all know he can be observant sometimes."

Thalia made an annoyed face, but was secretly very happy.

**Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen."**

**"How do you know that?"**

**"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week."**

**"That's my birthday! December twenty-second."**

**"Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!"**

**Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh—"**

**"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."**

"And here I thought Percy always had a big head." Annabeth snickered.

**"That's not what I was going to say."**

**"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast **_**you**_** out of the sky."**

"Somehow that only made me more nervous." Grover said.

**Apollo laughed good-naturedly. The rest of us didn't join him.**

**Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. I had to read it backward (which, for a dyslexic, really isn't that different than reading forward). I was pretty sure it said WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.**

**"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural!"**

Grover, Percy and Nico snickered behind their hands until Thalia shocked the, successfully shutting them up.

**I'll admit I was jealous. I couldn't wait to start driving. A couple of times that fall, my mom had taken me out to Montauk when the beach road was empty, and she'd let me try out her Mazda. I mean, yeah, that was a Japanese compact, and this was the sun chariot, but how different could it be?**

"Very." Thalia answered.

**"Speed equals heat," Apollo advised. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."**

**Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick.**

The others, looked at her worriedly.

**"What's wrong?" I asked her.**

**"Nothing," she said shakily. "N-nothing is wrong."**

**She pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast I fell back and crashed against something soft.**

"That really did hurt." Grover muttered.

**"Ow" Grover said.**

**"Sorry."**

**"Slower!" Apollo said.**

**"Sorry!" Thalia said. "I've got it under control!"**

Percy and Nico raised an eyebrow at Thalia while she just glared back at them.

**I managed to get to my feet. Looking out the window, I saw a smoking ring of trees from the clearing where we'd taken off.**

**"Thalia," I said, "lighten up on the accelerator."**

**"I've **_**got**_** it, Percy," she said, gritting her teeth. **

**But she kept it floored.**

**"Loosen up," I told her.**

"Gods that was annoying. And definitely not helping."

**"I'm loose! "Thalia said. She was so stiff she looked like she was made out of plywood.**

**"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo said. "Hang a left."**

**Thalia jerked the wheel and again threw me into Grover, who yelped.**

Thalia frowned and rubbed her head embarrassed. "Sorry Grover."

"It's okay."

**"The other left," Apollo suggested.**

**I made the mistake of looking out the window again. We were at airplane height now—so high the sky was starting to look black.**

**"Ah…" Apollo said, and I got the feeling he was forcing himself to sound calm. "A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over."**

"Nice Thals." Annabeth smiled while Thalia just playfully glared at her.

**Thalia tilted the wheel. Her face was chalk white, her forehead beaded with sweat. Something was definitely wrong. I'd never seen her like this.**

**The bus pitched down and somebody screamed. Maybe it was me. **

"Actually I think that was me." Nico whispered.

"Same here. I screamed, too." Grover said.

**Now we were heading straight toward the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the New England coastline off to our right. And it was getting hot in the bus.**

**Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus, but he started climbing up the rows of seats.**

**"Take the wheel!" Grover begged him.**

"I really wished he listened to you." Nico sighed.

**"No worries," Apollo said. He looked plenty worried. "She just has to learn to—WHOA!"**

**I saw what he was seeing. Down below us was a little snow-covered New England town. At least, it used to be snow-covered. As I watched, the snow melted off the trees and the roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to smolder. Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.**

"Woops." Thalia gave a small laugh.

**"Pull up!" I yelled.**

**There was a wild light in Thalia's eyes. She yanked back on the wheel, and I held on this time. As we zoomed up, I could see through the back window that the fires in the town were being snuffed out by the sudden blast of cold.**

**"There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let's slow down, dear. 'Dead' is only an expression."**

"He should've just taken the wheel." Clarisse said.

**Thalia was thundering toward the coastline of northern Long Island. There was Camp Half-Blood: the valley, the woods, the beach. I could see the dining pavilion and cabins and the amphitheater.**

**"I'm under control," Thalia muttered. "I'm under control."**

**We were only a few hundred yards away now.**

**"Brake," Apollo said.**

"Well she did that right." Nico whispered to Grover who shuddered at the memory.

**"I can do this."**

**"BRAKE!"**

**Thalia slammed her foot on the brake, and the sun bus pitched forward at a forty-five-degree angle, slamming into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge **_**FLOOOOOOSH**_**! Steam billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven wicker baskets.**

**The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half-melted canoes.**

"Poor canoes." Connor faked cried.

"They died so young Travis." Said whipping a fake tear away while the others looked at them weirdly.

**"Well," said Apollo with a brave smile. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"**

Everyone laughed while Annabeth just shook her head and handed the book to her mom.


	5. Chapter 5

Athena took the book from her daughter, marked the page and closed it. Then said.

"Now that the chapter's done, and its near noon, why don't we eat lunch, then the demigods can spend the rest of the day with their parents."

Everyone agreed to that and head towards the kitchen.

When everyone arrived at the kitchens, Apollo, Hermes, Percy, Nico, the Stolls and Thalia were already stuffing their faces with food. Already, there was a small pile of plates in front of them. Their food choices were quite … uncommon. For Hermes and his kids, three pieces of chicken, some rice, noodles, coke, pancakes with syrup, a few ambrosia on another plate, barbeque and surprisingly a small bowl of salad. Not to mention they had a bowl of sugar cubes for dessert.

Thalia on the other hand, had a mountain-like pile of burgers, fries, nectar, and a piece of chicken. She also had an apple there. Nico and Apollo had the same thing on their plates, 2 pieces of barbeque, spaghetti, steak, water (for Nico) and a strawberry milkshake (for Apollo), and a small bowl of chocolate ice cream with nuts for Nico while Apollo had a double-dutch ice cream. Percy's plate consisted of… you guessed it! Blue food.

Blue waffles, a slice of blue cake, bacon and eggs, rice and a drumstick (chicken). He also had a few ambrosia squares and a bowl of fruit salad too.

Everyone filed in the kitchen, taking their food from the buffet table and sat around the ridiculously long table.

Nico sat beside Percy who was sitting in front of Annabeth and Thalia.

Thalia, and Annabeth eyed the fruit salad in disbelief then at Percy, then at the bowl and back at Percy. They kept doing this until the hero of Olympus couldn't take it anymore.

"Is there something wrong with fruit salad?"

Thalia and Annabeth looked at each other before dramatically standing up and pointing their finger at Percy.

"Who are you and what have you done with Percy?" They demanded. Everyone raised their eyebrows at the two. Silena gathered up her courage and spoke up. "What do you guys mean?" she questioned the Hunter and the ghost king.

Thalia sighed as Annabeth explained.

"For as long as we known Percy, he has NEVER eaten anything healthy like fruit salad!

Nico and Percy rolled her eyes at the two while the campers were looking weirdly at them. Demeter was staring of into nothingness.

"Fruit….." Hades immediately scooted farther from the goddess of harvest.

_Crazy fruit, cereal loving woman._ He thought. Demeter glared at him, hearing his thoughts. Unknown to Hades, Demeter was making vines wrap around his legs so when he stood up to use the bathroom, he unceremoniously fell on his bottom.

"Serves you right, you foul kidnapping son-in-law/brother." Hades sighed and melted in the shadows to avoid Demeter's vines of death.

After a few more minutes of eating and everyone returned to the throne room, taking their original places and preparing to go with their parents for the rest of the day.

* * *

_**Will Solace, son of Apollo:**_

Everything seemed so much like a dream to Will that he was afraid he'd wake up and find himself in his bunk in Cabin 7. He felt surprised that the Percy, Thalia, and Nico chose him to be one of the campers to come to Mt. Olympus. Now, he stood grinning beside his father's chariot after having met the 9 Muses. It's every child of Apollo's dream to meet the Muses and to see their father. Will had experience much more now. He'd _met_ the 9 Muses, ate _with_ the Olympians, and now, his dad was giving him the chance to drive, actually _drive_, the sun chariot! It was Will's own personal Wonderland, minus the rabbits and fighting cards.

"OK Will. We're going to drive this bad baby-" Apollo patted his sun chariot which was in sports car-modeand watched his son with eager eyes. "into the sky for half of the day at most or less if you want to." He ended with a grin that matched that of the excited demigod. "Then we'll spend half of the remaining time with Hermes and his sons and half of it with the Muses for the nightly concert we do. Now, ready to begin the best day ever?"

In response, Will jumped into the driver's seat, put on his seatbelt (much to Apollo's distaste) and started up the sun chariot. He grinned mischievously at his dad who was staring agape at his son. "Well, dad? Are you just going to stand there and wait for the flies to come in your mouth or are you going to help me bring up the sun? 'Cus if you don't get in the chariot, I'm leaving you."

Apollo did a smirk and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He said teasingly. Will rolled his eyes. "Just get in the car. You wouldn't want Aunt Artemis to come and demand why the sun is late…. Would you?" Will's eyes closed half-way and a smirk found its way on his lips as Apollo paled at the thought. In the end, Apollo sighed and stepped into the Convertible.

"Time for lift-off, Captain Solace." Will grinned at the name and decided to play along. "of course, Pilot Apollo." Then he pretended to have a microphone. "Attention, passengers, we are now taking off. Expect infinite amounts off loops during the flight so may we request that if you have a queasy stomach, please either take your medicine or step out of the vehicle. Thank you." Apollo was about to add another comment when the two heard a voice.

"Apollo, if you don't get the sun going, I _will_ burn your haiku book." Artemis said, arms folded, a frown on her face and glaring intently at the sun god. Apollo flashed a look of horror before turning to Will who sent a small wave to his aunt. "Son, if you love me,you'd step on it."Will blinked, tilted his head in confusion, then shrugged before stepping on the gas. The chariot shot forward and moments later they were in the sky. Apollo didn't notice the small smile on his sister's face as they started they journey of the sun or the amusement in her eyes when Will waved at her.

_Those two are so alike and yet so different. Interesting… better keep an eye on them. I'm pretty sure they'll do weird stunts while driving that chariot. After all, with Apollo there… it'd be a miracle if those two don't do anything stupid._

_~ ~ ~ 15 minutes later ~ ~ ~ _

"WOOHOOO!" Will shouted while making the sun chariot make another loop like a roller coaster for the 4th time. Apollo was laughing madly beside Will, clutching his sides.

"This… is the BEST chariot riding… my car has _ever_ experienced!" He shouted through the wind. Will made it so that they were flying upside down, which was even better in Apollo's opinion. Just then the two heard chuckles and saw an iris-message from Hermes, Connor and Travis in front of them. Connor and Travis waved at Will while Hermes grinned at Apollo. "Seems like fun Apollo, but Artemis told me to tell you that if you don't stop fooling around, she's going to shoot you down from the sky."

"Awwwwww…" Will pouted. "Oh well…" He jerked the wheel sharply to the left and soon, the father-son duo were driving safely across the sky. The two had pouts on their faces. Hermes flashed them a grin before cutting off the connection.

"_Those two are so alike._" Hermes thought. A moment of silence passed.

"Will?"

"Yeah dad?" Apollo grinned at his son.

"I think I know what to get you for your 18th birthday."

* * *

_**Connor and Travis Stoll, sons of Hermes:**_

Hermes cut off the Iris-message he sent after telling Apollo Artemis' message. Then he turned to his sons but found that they weren't there. Hermes gulped and quickly looked around.

_Oh no… where could they have gone!It hasn't even been 10 minutes and those two are already gone. *sigh* Better start looking before someone like Hera finds them. _

He started looking around specifically near the park which the twins thought was the best place to do a prank. He was about to sit on the bench and think when he heard a small familiar chuckle and the sound of a slap. He inwardly grinned.

_So… they think they can prank the best prankster in the world, huh? Time for a little fun then. _

He pretended to walk toward the exit when he heard the bush behind the bench rustle a bit. Hermes grinned and, using his speed, jumped into the bush, grabbing what he thought was Connor's shirt. What he caught, however, was just a blue blanket, the same color as Connor's shirt, with the words _to the best brother _written on it. Hermes recognized Travis' looked puzzled and stepped out of the bush. A small smile graced his lips as he looked at the blanket. "I remember this."

_**~ ~ ~ FLASHBACK~ ~ ~**_

"_Give it back, Travis!" 5 year old Connor said as he chased his brother around the front yard. Travis grinned and held the blanket high in the air. "No way, Con! If you want it, come and reach it."_

_Connor frowned and tried grabbing his blanket from his older brother, but he was too small to get it. Connor gave another jump. "Give it back already, Travis." Said boy just grinned and brought the blue blanket up higher. Connor eyed the blanket hopelessly, small tears forming at the corners of his eyes. _

"_You know what, never mind. You can keep it instead." Connor tried to wipe away the tears forming in his eyes but ended up only making it worse. Travis' eyes widened. "Oh man… Come on, Connor! D-don't cry! I didn't mean to go overboard." Travis dropped the blanket and laid his hands on Connor's shoulders but his younger brother pushed them off. Travis could only watch as Connor glared at him through tear-filled eyes and run out the gate. Then Travis started panicking. He started chasing after his brother._

"_Connor? Con? Connor! Connor, come back! I really didn't mean to make you cry. C'mon, bro!" Travis saw the silhouette of his younger brother make a right turn and he instantly knew where Connor was heading. Travis slowed down to catch his breath. "Oh Connor…" Suddenly, Travis thought of a great idea. "It's a GREAT idea! Travis, you've outdone yourself again." Travis grinned before heading to the shop._

_Connor was sniffling as he sat on the swing. "Stupid Travis. I hate him. Just because he's taller he has to get my blanket and make me reach for it. Bad enough the bullies do it, now my own brother… I HATE YOU!" Connor accidentally shouted the last part out. Good thing he was alone… or so he thought._

"_Excuse me?"_

_Connor turned so fast he fell of the swing and landed on the rough ground unceremoniously. He saw a man of about 20 years old look at him worriedly._

"_Oh, are you ok, young man?" He asked, lifting Connor to his feet. "You're not hurt are you?" He asked. Connor could do nothing but blink and numbly shake his head. The man gave a sigh. "Thank gods." He stood up and dusted off some dirt that got on his pants._

_Connor took a clear look at the man. He was wearing a blue shirt and jeans, white converses and he had a bulky bag slung on his shoulder. It looked a lot like the kind of bag Connor saw the mailmen carry. The man had curly brown hair and clear blue eyes that looked mischievous, like the way his and Travis' get when they're getting even with a bully. The man sat on the swing beside the one Connor occupied. "You wanna talk about it?" Connor scrunched his eyebrows while sitting on the swing. He swung back and forth a bit before answering. "Not really."_

_The man raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? It seems like talking would do you some good, young man." Connor closed his eyes, took a breath and told the man what happened. When he finished, the man looked thoughtful. "Hm… well it seems to me like your brother really didn't mean it. Maybe you should give him another chance." The 5 year old frowned. He was about to respond when he heard someone shout his name._

"_Hey Connor! CONNOR!" Said boy's eyes widened and he looked for the source of the voice, one he knew all too well. "Travis?" he whispered to himself._

_The man patted Connor on the back and grinned at him. "Go on then. It seems you've worried your brother." Connor mutely nodded and got of the swing set. He flashed the man a small smile. "Thanks, mister! I'll be going know!" The man smiled back and raised his hand in goodbye. He watched as the two brothers reunited at the entrance to the small playground. The man saw Travis holding something behind his back and decided to listen in on their conversation._

"_Really, Con! Don't make me all worried like that!" Connor looked down on the floor guiltily. "Sorry bro." _

_Travis just grinned and gave the package he had to Connor who raised an eyebrow at it. "Go on, bro. Open it!" Connor looked suspiciously at his brother before cautiously opening the gift. When he did, his mouth dropped. The man laughed silently at the boy's expression. _

"_Travis, h-how did you?" Travis smiled sheepishly. "I bought it of course! Although I only wrote down the words… but that doesn't matter right now." Connor gave his brother his are-you-serious? look. A small smile formed on Connor's mouth as he gave Travis a big hug, dropping the gift on the floor. _

"_Thanks bro! You're the best." Connor picked up the fallen gift and closed it, but not before the man saw what it was. It wasn't anything special. Just a blue blanket with the words __**to the best brother **__written with marker at the bottom. The two five year olds started going home, leaving the man at the playground._

_The man smiled before bringing out his phone which had two small snakes intertwined at the antenna. He flicked it on casually and heard two voices._

"_510 messages from the gods." One hissed._

"_6000 ads for approval in the Olympus Weekly paper." A more feminine voice hissed._

_The man just sighed before flashing in to his usual attire, a white shirt, some knee-length shorts, winged shoes and in his hand, his caduceus._

_Hermes watched as his sons disappear around the corner, hearing their laughter. He gave a small smile to no one in particular before flashing out of there, leaving only a small breeze in his wake. _

_**~ ~ ~ End of Flashback ~ ~ ~ **_

"_That was the first time I talked to them both... well, Connor at least."_ Hermes thought. He snapped out of his reminiscing mode and remembered what was happening. He sighed.

"Alright, better keep my guard up. Olympus knows what those two could do to me." Hermes muttered to himself. However, without thinking, he sat on the bench. Then he heard the laughter.

Hermes looked up to find his two sons perched on a tree branch and smirking at him. Well, Travis was smirking. Connor was just plain laughing.

"You fell for it, dad!" They both said in unison. Hermes raised an eyebrow. "I don't see a prank anywhere, boys. So, enlighten me, what did I fall for." He smirked in return.

The twins shared a look before taking something off the branch above them. They brought out a bottle of Elmer's glue, a jar of honey and a small stick. These, although seemingly random, made the smirk on Hermes' face to disappear and it caused him to widen his eyes. "D-don't tell me…oh no…_Di immortales!_" Hermes tried to stand, flash out, or fly away but his godly behind was stuck, or rather, _glued_ to the bench. He started panicking and when he looked up, Connor and Travis had evil smirks on their faces. "Hermes prank no. 007, bee-hive catch." The brothers said in unison. Any color that was still on Hermes' face instantly vanished.

He resorted to the last plan he had. Hermes sucked in a big breath…

"HEEEELLLPPPPP!"

Laughter from two sons of Hermes was then heard throughout Olympus.

* * *

_**Charles Beckendorf, son of Hephaestus:**_

Hephaestus raised the hammer and brought it down on the tip of the spear he was making for Athena. He kept on doing it till sparks flew of the metal. Out of the corner of the smith god's eye, he caught Beckendorf awkwardly watching him. Hephaestus gave a mental sigh. He stopped working on the spear which immediately worried Beckendorf.

"Well?" Hephaestus demanded. Beckendorf just tilted his head in confusion. This time, Hephaestus really did sigh. "Are you going to help finish little weapon or are you going to stand there? If you are, I would like you to kindly leave my forge." Beckendorf winced at his father's icy tone. He swallowed, gathered his courage and said, "What do I need to do?"

Hephaestus' mouth inched its way upwards and he let out a good hearty laugh. Beckendorf let out a small smile before moving to stand beside his father after taking a random hammer from the shelf. Hephaestus grinned at his son. "Sorry 'bout that m'boy. It's just that me and living organisms…well-" Hephaestus trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Beckendorf started pounding on some metal he found and was forming it into a small dagger. "I'm guessing you and other living organisms go well?" Hephaestus scratched the back of his head while observing the forming dagger. "Yes. Sad to say, it appears that trait was passed down to most of my kids. Good thing you don't have it." Beckendorf raised an eyebrow at his father.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Unfortunately, Beckendorf took it the wrong way and thought his dad didn't like him. Hephaestus noticed the sudden mood change in his son and grunted. "Don't take it the wrong way. If you did have that trait of mine, then you would've still been standing in that corner and a very awkward silence would still be in this room."

Hephaestus grinned which was returned by Beckendorf. The two returned to the weapons they were making and found that BOTH had melted.

The only thing heard in the forge for the next few minutes was the cackling of the fire and two smiths' laughter. For some strange reason, they found the melted metal funny. The two grinned at each other before trying to remake weapons from the same metals.

_~ ~ ~ 10 minutes later ~ ~ ~_

3 new daggers, 1 spear and a semi-complete shield were hung near the window for cooling by the two smiths. They had forged these things in less than 20 minutes which would be the usual time in making a single spear. The two were about to take a break when Hermes suddenly barged into the forge, covered in what seemed to be honey, with killer bees right after him.

"MOVE!" The god of thieves shouted. Hephaestus' eyes widened and quickly took Beckendorf's arm and teleported a safe distance away from his beloved forge. Some bees died of the heat, but most still chased after the young god, who, after stumbling through the forge, tripping on various metals, and knocking down an entire shelf of weapons was able to exit the forge. All this happened on a span of 10 seconds.

Father and son watched the god of messengers run for his life, both not bothering to help. They watched as Hermes disappeared near Aphrodite's temple and an uneasy silence reigned between the two again.

"Father?" Hephaestus grunted at being called that but answered nonetheless. "What?" Beckendorf blinked and looked at the spot where he last saw Hermes.

"What… happened?" He asked slowly. Hephaestus sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know Charles, I really don't know. Come on then. Let's go fix whatever happened to my forge."

Fix the forge they did, because when they returned, there were overturned tables, smashed weapons and a lot of dead bees on the floor. The two smiths looked at each other before grinning.

"Time to work, son."

* * *

_**Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares:**_

Two swords clashed against each other, causing a few sparks to fly off of them. Clarisse huffed in annoyance as her own sword was being pushed nearer to her by her own father. Ares smirked in triumph as his own daughter started to sweat more.

"What's the matter Clarisse? Can't keep up?" The drakon slayer glared at the war god before retreating to catch her breath. Unfortunately for her, Ares was on a roll. He immediately slashed at her, causing Clarisse to dodge and retreat once more. They kept on doing this for a few minutes, Ares never going his daughter time to rest and Clarisse just barely dodging her father's sword. Ares growled in annoyance. His daughter should be fighting back! Not dodging his blade like a coward. He grit his teeth and his nostrils flared in disgust.

"FIGHT BACK! Fight back you cowardly girl! Those demigods should have picked one of my sons to come here if I had known we were going to spend a day with you." Clarisse flinched noticeably though she didn't mean to. There was her own father, wishing her brothers were her instead of her. Clarisse was strong but inside, she was crying. After all, to her father, she would always be second-best, never strong enough to earn her respect. _He doesn't even know_, Clarisse thought. Clarisse growled in frustration. She hadn't realized she had stopped moving until a sword flashed before her, nearly decapitating her. Her eyes widened before instinct took over and she jumped backward, rolled on the ground and shot straight up with a glare sent to her father.

"I thought this was a _friendly_ battle, a _play fight._" Clarisse shouted. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. "There is no such thing as a _play fight._" He said with eyes narrowed. Without warning he charged at Clarisse again. This time she was a little too late and Ares managed to cut her in the cheek. She retreated backward as Ares landed blows on her, or tried to at least. He swung his sword at Clarisse's head again but only managed to cut off a small handful of her hair. The two stopped and observed the damage. Ares stared at the fallen bits of hair uninterestedly but Clarisse was different story.

"You cut my hair." Clarisse said slowly, her hand gripping her sword so tightly her knuckles were turning white, her eyes never leaving the strands on the ground. Ares raised an eyebrow, obviously bored. "So what?" He asked. Clarisse blinked and looked at Ares. "You cut my hair." She said even slower. Ares' eyebrows scrunched together, not getting why his daughter was getting so worked up over a few strands of hair. Then she glared at him so intensely, sending chills down the war god's spine and making him take an involuntary step backwards. Her glare promised pain.

"Nobody… cuts my hair and gets away with it." Clarisse charged at a speed which the war god was not ready for. He tried blocking but was unsuccessful. In a matter of minutes, Ares had cuts all over his body and he was sweating profoundly. This didn't bother Clarisse at all though. She kept on attacking the god, never giving time to rest. Her eyes held anger inside them.

"C-come on now, Clarisse. T-this is a friendly match remember? Just a play battle." Ares tried to reason out with his daughter. He received another bone chilling glare and would have bolted had it not been for his pride as the war god. War gods and goddesses never back down from a fight, NEVER. So when Clarisse took a step toward him, he took a step back.

Clarisse smirked as she started for him. She watched as her father swallowed hard and could see the fear in his eyes.

_Pathetic_, she thought. _He's supposed to be the war god and he's cowering in fear at his own daughter. Then again… He really shouldn't have cut my hair like that. It took me months just to make it this long. Father or not, war god or not, he WILL pay._

Without a second thought, Clarisse ran towards Ares, striking blows at him all around. Ares staggered and Clarisse took it as an opportunity and kicked him in the face with her foot then sent him flying with a roundhouse kick into a marble pillar. The pillar crashed into another pillar until all 12 pillars crashed down. It buried the god in rubble. Clarisse blinked and the anger she felt quickly washed away and looked at her handy work in awe and fear.

The arena had slashes on the ground as well as drops of blood, both red and gold. Then the pillars, once mighty and supported the arena, were now on the floor, some cracked, some still in one piece, while others were… not so lucky. Clarisse gulped and assessed the damage.

"Oh gods… What did I do?" She looked around before shrugging. She returned the sword inside the weapon shed a few ways off near the arena. Then she started whistling as she walked back to her room, enjoying the scenery and ignoring the forming crowd near then arena. Some of the minor gods were trying to get Ares out of the rubble.

All the fuss and Clarisse just watched from afar. _That'll teach him to cut my hair with his sword. _Then she went on her way to see what the others were doing. She recalled hearing someone cry for help but… maybe it was just her imagination.

* * *

_**Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite:**_

Aphrodite let out a small squeal when Silena walked out of the goddess' personal walk-in closet, wearing dark skinny jeans, designer shoes, and an original pink blouse that had a small white sash tied around her waist. She was wearing a baby blue headband that emphasized the blondness of her hair. She wore a bracelet on her wrist and had a bit of lipstick on. The daughter of Aphrodite faced her mother and let out a small but dazzling smile.

"Well, how do I look, Mom?" Silena asked. Aphrodite smiled brilliantly before responding. "You look wonderful, dear. There's absolutely no doubt you are my daughter!" Silena blushed at the comment. Aphrodite then proceeded to flashing the two of them into her garden.

The garden took Silena's breath away. Left and right, there were columns of roses in different colors. Red, Pink, Blue, White, Purple, you name it, it's there. There was a fountain in the middle of it all, with a statue of Aphrodite herself on top. Just a few ways behind the fountain, under a vine-covered glass roof, was a swing. No, not the kind you see in the playground. This swing was like those you see in the park, where couples sit on it and rock the chair slowly, while romantic music was playing. Out of everything in this garden, the swinging chair fascinated Silena the most, not because it could move, but because of the designs on it.

The chair was carved from dark red mahogany, looking as if it was varnished. The backrest had small flowers intricately carved in it. There were roses, sunflowers, orchids, hyacinths, and what Silena thought was a Chrysanthemum. The armrests looked like vines woven together and solidified even more. The bar holding the chair to the pole itself looked like it was made of only vines. There were even a few rose buds growing on it.

Aphrodite saw her daughter staring at the chair in awe. She a small laugh at her daughter's face. "You like it?"

Silena raised an eyebrow at her. "Like it? I _love_ it! Who gave it to you since I'm sure you wouldn't buy furniture." Aphrodite gave a small smile, one with regret in it, and led Silena to the bench where she sat down gracefully. "Hephaestus gave it to me. He made it to commemorate our wedding." Aphrodite said this with so much disgust that Silena leaned away, surprised at her mother's tone.

"Mother? If I may ask, why do you always cheat on Lord Hephaestus?" Aphrodite was so surprised that all she could do was blink. She stared at one of the growing rose buds on her armrest. She gave a sigh before waving her hand over it, all while Silena was watching her.

Almost immediately, the flower blossomed and an image appeared above it. The image started moving and turned into a video of sorts. It showed a man and a woman, sitting under a tree, obviously having a picnic but both weren't talking to each other. Silena and Aphrodite frowned at what they saw. Aphrodite made eye contact with her daughter and winked at her. Then she snapped her fingers once and the couple in the video started looking at each other and blushed. The goddess snapped her fingers again and this time, the man started to talk to the woman, although awkwardly at first. It looked like the scene was in fast forward.

With another snap of her fingers, the couple finally kissed although on the cheek only. Aphrodite smiled again before waving her hand through the image. The rose returned to a small flower bud.

To say Silena was impressed would be an understatement. She never knew her mother could do that. The love goddess gave a small sigh before turning to her curious daughter.

"I don't really know." Silena titled her head in confusion.

"You don't _know_?" she confirmed. Her mother only sighed in defeat. "Isn't that a bit selfish of you, mother?" Aphrodite stared. It was one thing to be called selfish, but to be called that by your _daughter_, well… it kind of hurts. Aphrodite frowned. "Why do you say that?"

Silena realized what she said and blushed. "D-don't get me wrong, mother. I just think that maybe… maybe it's time to stop cheating on your own husband. I mean, he's tolerated you for who knows how long now. The two of you are sharing a broken marriage! Seriously, mom. YOU ARE A _LOVE _GODDESS! Don't you think it's time to start loving a man who actually likes you for who you are and not for your looks? Just look at this swing we're sitting on. _Hephaestus _made it for you! As an anniversary gift, no less! Has Lord Ares given you anything other than physical pleasure?"

Silena stopped for a moment to breath before continuing. "You should give him a chance, Mom. Just because he's not best charmer here on Olympus doesn't mean he doesn't have a good heart. Just look at Charlie! Sure he's not the cutest guy at camp but he's got skills others don't. He sees me for who I am. He sees me as _Silena_, not some Aphrodite girl. I don't even know why I'm telling you this! UGH! He's just so… so… ARRRGGHH!"

Silena started crying, not bothering that her make-up would get smudged. Aphrodite looked at her daughter in sadness before enveloping her in a hug. The love goddess stroked Silena's hair and muttered encouraging words, sometime using her charm speaking abilities.

Aphrodite let Silena cry on her shoulder, knowing full well the pain that accompanies love. Silena calmed down after a few minutes.

"Love is a mystery inside each person." Silena looked at her mother in wonder. "It brings us pain and sorrow, but most of all, it brings us joy and comfort. Comfort in knowing someone has accepted us for we are; joy in knowing you belong in someone's arms, one that will hold you till the end of time." Silena smiled. _People may think my mother is dumb, but that's what love does to her. She's actually pretty smart underneath it all. _

"Are you alright now, Silena?" said girl nodded.

"Here's some advice for you: tell the boy how you feel immediately. Don't let him get away until he's given you an answer to your feelings. Don't make my mistakes, always running off with Ares or some other mortal guy. One thing I do know though about mortal affairs…" Aphrodite looked at her daughter before her, now 14, before continuing. "… It's that out of all the affairs I've had so far, the one I regret the least was the one with your father. After all, the result is sitting before me, all grown up and in love." Aphrodite smiled lovingly at her favorite daughter who returned it.

The two stared at the garden in comfortable silence.

"Mother?"

"Yes, Silena?" Silena looked at mother through the corner of her eye. She didn't see the slut people think she is, nor the woman Athena thinks she is. No, Silena saw a grown woman who has much expertise in love, one who has experienced it multiple times. Silena Beauregard saw a mother, the one she always wished Aphrodite would be.

Aphrodite stood up from the bench and looked expectantly at Silena who stood up immediately. "Come on, Silena, it's time we get relationships going, and possibly repair those which have broken. That IS my job after all as a love goddess. "

The two walked off towards the armory, where they knew the people they love and who love them are. It was, indeed, time to patch up two love stories.

While walking Silena sure of two things: 1) The "talk" had gone terribly wrong; and 2) She'll confess to Charles Beckendorf of her love, whether he likes her or not and for some strange reason, she knows he'll accept her.

* * *

_**Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter:**_

Katie Gardner's been through too many things ever since finding out she was a half-blood. She'd fought hellhounds, dracanae, and other monsters. She's put up with pranks from the Stoll brothers for 3 months now. She was also told by the current Cabin 4 councilor that she was doing the best in the entire cabin.

Katie woke up to see the sun (or more precisely, Apollo) had already begun its journey across the sky. She rolled her eyes when she saw it make a small loop, unnoticeable to mortal eyes, but if you've got godly blood in you, it's not hard to see. She looked outside her window to see Lord Hermes run out of the armory (which was pointed to her from the tour on the day they arrived on Mt. Olympus). It looked like he was being chased by… bees?

"_Does that happen to everyone here on Olympus? I really hope not. It's just probably the Stolls again. Honestly! Even on Olympus they STILL prank people. Out of the citizens here, though, why did they choose their own father? *sigh* I will never understand those two."_

Katie slipped her shoes on and went to fields on Olympus where she surveyed the land. It was good and soft enough for planting but there was nothing growing. Katie frowned at the soil.

"Why isn't there anything planted? There should be at least a few fruits here like strawberries. They can survive in any climate when handled by godly power." She kept muttering to herself and didn't notice that Demeter had shown up until the goddess placed her hand on Katie's shoulder. Katie jumped and turned around quickly, ready to punch whoever was behind. You could imagine the shock he got when she realized it was only her mother.

"Katie, dear, why are you here in the fields?" Demeter asked. This caused the camper to be confused. "Why wouldn't I? Aren't we going to do your duties today?" Katie became thoroughly confused when she saw Demeter smile in amusement. "It's _winter_, Katie. Crops do not grow in this season. So, instead of planting fruits, you'll meet your sister. Well… your _half_-sister." Katie blinked. _"I've already met all of my half-sisters. Unless, of course, she's… talking… about…"_ Katie's jaw dropped.

"Y-you're telling me I'm going to meet…"

"Yup." Demeter chirped happily. "You'll be meeting Persephone. My poor daughter is cooped up in the underworld. It's been so long since I've last seen her. She hasn't been able to meet any demigods lately either. In fact, you'll be the first of my children to meet her! Isn't this just wonderful?"

Without waiting for a response, Demeter grabbed Katie's shoulder and teleported to the throne room inside Hades' palace in the underworld. There, Persephone, goddess of springtime, was lounging on her throne, trying (and failing) to make a silver rose grow. She sighed when the rose merely wilted. Katie hid behind Demeter as a precaution. She didn't know how Persephone treated demigod children of her mother. Demeter cleared her throat which caught Persephone's attention immediately.

At the mere sight of her mother, Persephone's eyes looked brighter and her skin looked like it had more color. Her aura seemed much livelier and she started to smile. The goddess rose from her throne and ran to meet her mother.

"Hello there, mother."

"Hello there, my darling _kore._ Why don't you seem happy? Hades isn't here." Demeter frowned while looking at her immortal daughter. "Have you been eating your cereals" Persephone smiled yet rolled her eyes. "Yes, mother, I have." The goddess of spring caught sight of Katie who was awkwardly shifting from foot to foot. Persephone raised an eyebrow at her mother who just gave her a smile.

Demeter cleared her throat and stood behind Katie, placing her hands on the demigods shoulders. Demeter grinned at Persephone before introducing Katie. "This is Katie, your half-sister. She'll be spending the day with us since I don't have any duties anymore for the entire day." Demeter gave Katie a slight push towards her daughter before turning around and headed out of the room. "I'll leave the two of you to get to know each other, then. If you two are done, come to the kitchen, I'll be baking cookies." Then she proceeded to the other side of the door, quickly closing it, leaving Katie and Persephone to their own devices.

_**~ ~ ~changing to Katie's POV~ ~ ~**_

OK. So mom just left me and my immortal half-sister (who probably doesn't like me) all alone, inside a creepy throne. I repeat. I am _alone _in a room with _Persephone!_ Wait… that sounded weird. UGH! The Stolls are getting to me! I stared at the door which Mom left through and I didn't have the courage to start a conversation with a goddess. Actually, the silence was a bit comforting.

I started to shuffle from foot to foot again. Darn my ADD/ADHD or whatever you call it. I was staring at a small crack in the wall next to the door when I heard my sister speak.

"You can sit down, you know, sister." I was so surprised that all I did was stare at Persephone. Stupid right? I mean a goddess talked to me and all I'm doing is staring at her. She must think I'm rude or something. I wonder what Joseph and the rest of the cabin is doing right now… GAH! Stop it ADHD!

"-ie? Katie? Katie!" My head shot up when I heard my name and saw Persephone standing or rather crouching in front of me. I saw relief in her eyes when I responded. "Huh?" Persephone stood up straight and waved it off like it was nothing. "Sorry, Lady Persephone. I didn't mean to ignore you." She just smiled at me in understanding. "It's your ADHD isn't it? And there's no need to call me Lady. You're my sister after all. I bet you don't call your other half-siblings _Lord _or _Lady_ now, do you?" She ended her question with a small smile forming on her lips and an eyebrow raised.

I grinned at the thought of calling Joseph, lord or at calling Miranda, lady. Worse would be calling Travis that. HAHA! Lord Travis. It sounds so ridiculous I can't keep it in. It was too funny so I ended up giggling out loud, Persephone must think I'm some sort of lunatic.

_No I don't Katie. It would be rather funny to call my other siblings lord or lady. Do tell me though, who is this Travis?_

I was surprised to say the least and well… I landed on my bottom quite unceremoniously, with my eyes going wide and my head whipping around, searching for the owner of the voice. Persephone who was back in her throne watched me in amusement. "You _do_ know that gods can read minds, right?" I turned my head to Persephone who had a smile on her lips and looked like she wanted to laugh out loud but was too nice to do so.

I felt myself blushing. Persephone leaned toward me with curiosity in her eyes. "So? Are you going to tell me who this _Travis _fellow is? He seems to have an impact on you, dear sister."

I was supposed to keep my mouth shut but the mere mention of Travis made my blood boil. I still remember his latest prank on my cabin or more specifically, on me. I sat on the chairs which Persephone graciously conjured for me. "Well, to start off, Travis is this really annoying son of Hermes who loves to prank me…."

And so for the next hours and a half, I told Persephone about Travis. Connor too! Persephone waited patiently and laughed alongside me when she heard about what I did to Travis. Heck, she even got mad when she heard about the chocolate bunnies on the roof. She thought Travis and Connor were hilarious and, being the great sister that she is, she told me a few ways to get back at them. She probably learned all those paybacks from spending too much time in the underworld with Lord Hades. Oh well.

Persephone told me about her life here in the underworld as well. She told me about turning Alecto the Fury into a dandelion once. Hades had been laughing for days! Who knew the lord of the dead could have a sense of humor. We continued like that until I had told her every prank the Stolls have done to me and until she told me all about the embarrassing things that happened to Lord Hades and her whilst they were here.

In the end, it became more of a sister-bonding day than mother-daughter. Hmm… I wonder if mother thought of all this. Speaking of mother… I wonder if she's still baking.

_~~~meanwhile with Demeter in the kitchen~~~_

The goddess of agriculture was already baking her 75th batch of cookies when she checked the clock and sighed in irritation once more.

_Why aren't those two coming yet? It's been five hours and it's nearly time for lunch! I've made a LOT of cookies too! That's it, time to go check on them._

Demeter removed the last batch of cookies from the oven as well as her apron before heading to the throne. She was about to open the door when she heard laughter inside. Curious, she opened it a bit and saw her two beloved daughters laughing like best friends and trading stories. Demeter smiled at the two and closed the door, making sure her presence was unknown to them.

_I guess I could give them one more hour. This is, after all the only time they'll be able to spend together… unless… *Gasp* I just got a BRILLIANT idea! Not only do I like it, but I'm sure Hades, Persephone and Katie will agree to it. I can't wait for tomorrow now! Alright, time to make some of my rare cakes for those two. _

* * *

_**Annabeth Chase, daughters of Athena:**_

25 meters from the throne room stand the personal library of the mighty goddess, Athena. The library was over 20 feet tall, indicating it had a lot of floors and was about 35 meters wide. The outside looked like it was made of white marble. It was outlined with a nice shade of gray. It had numerous 14-feet tall windows and had double oak doors with bronze handles. Four pillars stood tall with an eagle atop each pillar. Vines entwined around the pillar artistically with roses growing.

Inside, was even more breathtaking that words cannot describe it. In fact it was indescribable that the author of this fanfic cannot even form a word for it.

Inside this magnificent library, Athena sat on her comfy, cozy chair in front of her fireplace in her personal library while younger Annabeth was in front of a table a few steps away. While older Annabeth was hanging out with Nico, Thalia, and Percy. Right now she was thinking about the books and the war that is to come.

"Mother?"

Athena was cut off from her thinking. Mini-Annabeth looked at her sadly. "Would you rather that I leave, Mother?" mini-Annabeth asked, closing her book and standing up to leave. Athena shook her head and motioned for her young Annabeth to sit down. The young demigod did. "Think nothing of it, daughter. I was just thinking.

"What my older self is doing? You mean hanging out with Nico, Thalia, and Percy?" At the name of that hero, Athena's jaw clenched and she pursed her lips. "Yes. That son of Poseidon… he is indeed strange." Mini-Annabeth cocked her head to the side. "How so, mother?"

Athena shifted in her chair and thought. "For one, he's friends with one of my daughters, a child of his father's enemy. Second, he seems so obtuse but is rather smart when you think about it. Third, he seems to be stronger than most. Stronger than any child of Poseidon. I do not like what my insight and instincts tell me."

Mini-Annabeth crossed her arms, leaned back on her chair and thought as well. She asked a question that was bothering her ever since the second chapter of their reading.

"Isn't this dangerous?" Athena peered at her 7-year-old daughter. "Is what dangerous, dear?"

"What we're doing, this reading about the future. Doesn't it cause a ripple in what mortals call the _space time continuum_?"

Athena chuckled. "Well, normally, it would. However, as the fates themselves have approved of this, it means that they are controlling all of this, even in the past. My guess is that when we finish with the books, we would all, somehow, _forget_ everything that happened yet at the same time, subconsciously remember them." Mini-Annabeth nodded, hanging on to every word. Athena continued.

"Whilst it is true that we gods cannot change the future, it doesn't mean that we can't know what will happen. In a way, it's a loophole." Athena finished. She watched as her Annabeth was deep in thought again. She chuckled at how very much like her Annabeth looked when in deep thought. The silence inside the library was comfortable.

"So, I hear you're the best at camp with a knife." Athena started. Annabeth suddenly brightened up considerably. "I am! Chiron was so surprised! I even managed to beat many campers who are 5 or 6 years older than me." Athena smiled at her daughter wholeheartedly. "That's my girl." The wisdom goddess made 2 cups of tea appear. Annabeth took one gratefully. The two settled once again and began reading books of their preference.

The warm fire, blessed fire from Hestia, cackled quietly, giving the library a home-like feel. The only sounds that could be heard were the cackling of the fire, the flipping of pages and the occasional scrape of a chair and sip of tea. Mini-Annabeth flipped to the page of her Mythology book and saw a picture or rather, a painting of Poseidon made years ago. An idea popped into her head and she smirked slightly.

"_My older self would get a kick out of this! Chase, you're so stupid! Why didn't you think about this earlier?"_

Athena noticed that her daughter had stopped reading.

"Annabeth? Is something wrong?" mini-Annabeth looked up, surprised. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing, mother. Don't mind me." Athena smiled to herself and shook her head in amusement. "_Just like her father."_

Athena stood up from in front of the fireplace and took a seat across from Annabeth. "Come on now. You can always tell me." Annabeth looked into her mom's eyes and relented.

"Well, I was just wondering why it is that you hate Lord Poseidon." Athena raised an eyebrow at this. "I already know the basics. Athens, Medusa. But other than those why do you hate him?"

Athena sighed and looked down. "To be honest, Annabeth, even I don't know anymore."

"But then why…" Annabeth trailed off at seeing the conflicted expression on Athena's face.

"Listen carefully, Annabeth. Everyone has their own fatal flaw. Gods and goddesses are no exception. Mine happens to be hubris or deadly pride. It is something I inherited from my father." Athena paused for a moment before continuing. "I had no reason to hate Poseidon for the Athens. In fact, to be _truly_ honest, I fully expected him to win." At this, Annabeth's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"WHAT?" Athena smiled bitterly. "Yes. Olives are made only for food however; _salt water_ on the other hand can be used for many things. If you filter the water, you can drink it. Then the salt which remained can be used to spice up any food." Athena abruptly stopped. Then she looked outside the window behind Annabeth. She saw a figure running towards the window.

"Annabeth, get away from the window." Mini-Annabeth's eyes widened and she drew her dagger and stood beside her mother looking at the window. Using her godly powers, Athena tried to locate where the person running was and who said person was. What she got however, was a lot of buzzing and the faint smell of honey.

"What the-" Just then, Hermes crashed from the roof, followed by a dozen Olympian bees. Olympian bees are normal bees bred on Olympus because of all the flowers there. Athena acted quickly and sent a wave blast at the bees which killed them immediately. At the same time, Hermes collapsed from exhaustion on the library floor. Then he stood and hugged Athena to the bone.

"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" He all but shouted. Annabeth stood off to the side to avoid the killer hug. Athena seemed very uncomfortable.

"You can let go now, Hermes." And let go, he did. Hermes fixed his clothes and cleared his throat. He snapped his fingers and the roof fixed itself. "Thanks again, Athena! Sorry for the trouble and you wouldn't happen to have seen Connor and Travis around here have you?" The two females shook their heads.

"Oh well. Thanks again, sister! Now… gotta go." Then he flashed out of there to avoid the goddess' wrath. Mother and daughter watched the spot he was standing in before he vanished.

"Umm…"

"I don't know, daughter. This is why I don't hang around with them. You lose brain cells." Annabeth and Athena shared a look before bursting into laughter and giggles which were heard all the way to the clearing on Olympus which was 2 buildings away from the throne room. It was there that the Big Three and their kids were wreaking havoc.

* * *

_**Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus; Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades; Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon: (Percy's POV)**_

Three hours and thirty minutes after Apollo started his journey with Will, dad appeared in my room at the exact same time that I came out of the bathroom wearing my Nemo-themed PJs. All he did was smile or grin while I was blushing none stop. Dad waited until I was finally decent. When I _was_ decent, Dad grabbed my arm, told me to close my eyes (which I did) and teleported the both of us to what seemed like a big clearing. I couldn't see properly since I was bent down on my knees and emptying my stomach of all its contents.

_Me + godly travel = No no_

Dad rubbed my back while I emptied the contest of my tummy. I heard some footsteps. "Come on Percy. Don't be a seaweed brain now. It's just godly travel."

I looked up to see Thalia standing over me, looking a bit green herself. Nico stood or rather leaned on a tree beside me. I smirked at Thalia. "Speak for yourself Thalia. You're looking a bit green there, cousin."

"Shut up." I heard her murmur. Dad stopped rubbing my back and stood up. Nico helped me up and I observed my surroundings.

We were in a BIG clearing full of grass, trees and flowers. Under the shade of an especially big tree were Hades and Zeus looking like they wanted to be anywhere except here. Both were wearing normal clothes; pants and button shirts. I looked at dad and saw that he wore the same things as he does in the meetings, khaki shorts, sandals and a beach shirt. Nico went to stand beside his father, looking uncomfortable.

Me, Thalia and Dad walked over to the others. Zeus conjured up chairs and a table. Then he, dad, and Hades sat down like they did it every day. Nico looked at us and sat down. Thalia did the same after shrugging leaving me the only one standing. I looked at the chair beside dad and Nico and they nodded at me encouragingly. So I sat.

The chair, although made of metal, was actually very comfortable. Odd.

"So" I began. "Mind telling me why we're here and having a tea party?" Nico spat out the coke he was drinking from his glass while Thalia shot me her look. You know, the look that says _Are you crazy? You idiot, be more respectful! _Yeah. That look. I could see Dad and Hades trying to keep in their laughter while Zeus' eye was twitching.

"We're not having a _tea party_, Percy." Dad said, still trying to keep in his laughter.

"So why _are_ we here?" Thalia asked, fixing her the circlet (or tiara as me and Nico call it) on her head, the symbol of the lieutenant of the hunt. Hades shot Zeus a look while Dad shrugged. What the heck is going on? "Apparently, Zeus wants you three to enhance your big three powers since you're here with us. It's not something we usually do." Hades said.

"Usually? We've never done this!" Dad said. I was getting confused by the second. _So their sort of day off will be spent on training us? That sucks. It's something Ares would do. _

I could tell Thalia and Nico had the same thoughts as me. "We're going to _train_?" Thalia asked incredulously. Nico just groaned. Zeus got a confused look.

"Don't you want to know how to make a storm or call down more than one arc of lightning?" I could tell that got to Thalia. It's her fatal flaw after all; power. I knew by the glint in her eyes that she was hooked. Nico looked at me, took my hand into his and shrugged again. "You know we don't have anything to do, so why not?" Hades seemed to cheer up at what he said. Then everyone was looking at me.

I weighed my choices. Stay and train; stay and watch; leave and have nothing to do... well that's pretty obvious.

"Fine." I said.

The Big three grinned and was about to snap their finger when Thalia interrupted them. "Could we train with Annabeth though? Well, she doesn't need to train but could we have her here?" She gave my Dad her best shot at the puppy dog pout I saw on TV. I guess it was good enough because he caved in the next moment. "Alright. But I don't think she'll be of any help though." we grinned. "She'll mostly just watch and give comments. That's how she is when training with godly powers; she just waits till we get the hang of it."

The Big Three rolled their eyes but gave in to her request. Not a minute later, Annabeth was standing beside her with a confused look. "What the? How'd I get here?"

Thalia immediately hugged her. Annabeth laughed and hugged us, then bowed to the gods present.

"So, why am I here?" She asked fearlessly. Dad explained everything to her. She nodded then frowned but it was gone as fast as it came. I heard the bushes behind us rustle.

In a heartbeat, I had Riptide out while Thalia had her spear. We got into position while the others just sat there. We looked at them in confusion.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You do now it's just Artemis, right?" we turned again and true enough, the goddess of the hunt stood there, an eyebrow raised. She stepped out of the bushes and bowed to Zeus. "Sorry I'm late father. I had to visit my hunters first." Zeus waved it off like it was a bug.

The next few minutes were a blur to me. For some reason, in a span of twenty minutes, there were arrows flying at Nico who dodged them, thunder everywhere, birds chasing after Dad and some even landed on the armrest of my chair but left me alone. Annabeth sat across from us, making designs for Olympus with the pen and papers conjured for her.

"Enough!" Zeus yelled. He snapped his fingers and me, Nico and Thalia were transported to the middle of the clearing. It suddenly became dark as if a shadow was passing over us, which in this case, it might have been.

"Hey, they're not actually serious, right?" Nico asked a bit fearfully. We didn't know what to expect so we drew our weapons. Riptide for me, Aegis and a spear for Thalia and a stygian iron sword for Nico. I felt a bit put out since other than Aegis, my weapon was the only one with a name.

"Hey Nico, why don't you give your sword a name?" This, of course, earned me weird looks. "Why would I name a sword?" He asked incredulously. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I have Riptide; Thalia has Aegis while all you have a stygian iron sword. See? We only call it stygian Iron sword! No name whatsoever." The both of them looked at me exasperatedly.

"My sword doesn't _need_ a name."

"Oh come on! Just give it one, Nico. Besides, saying Stygian iron sword is a mouthful." Nico still looked doubtful while Thalia just didn't care. Nico was about to retort when an earthquake shook and a dozen skeletons rose from the cracks which appeared on the ground.

We all got into position, back to back to back. I wonder how they actually call since we can't actually _go_ back to back to back. Ah! ADHD again. I focused but not before having a final word for the moment.

"We'll settle this later, Nico." I got a groan as a response. I sent him a grin before he, Thalia and I started hacking the skeletons. Well, me and Thalia were hacking while Nico just pointed his swords at them, then he would whisper a few words and the skeletons would go down another crack in the ground. Sadly, he could only do that to eight skeletons. It's still a lot though, I'll give him that. We (Thalia and I) covered for him and finished off the remaining skeletons.

It didn't end there of course. From the dark sky came a small rumble and lightning raced towards_ me._ I watched it race through the sky and strike down to earth, where I currently stood. My ADHD saved me in the end. I back flipped and landed 3 meters from where I stood. Not long later, the lightning struck the exact spot I was in before. Tendrils of lightning shot down towards Earth, making the clearing we were in into a killer lightning storm. Literally. One hit from those lightning bolts and you'd be dead. If lucky, you'd be knocked unconscious and would receive high-degree burns and would most likely be in a coma but alive.

More skeletons rose from the ground. Simultaneously, me and Thalia cursed. She made her spear and Aegis turn back into their dormant state and made her bow and arrows appear. She drew an arrow, charged it with a bit of lightning and fired. She hit two skeletons which then started to turn into ashes as electricity flowed into the bones. More skeletons appeared and Nico did the process he did again, pushing himself to the limit. I hacked away but they didn't seem to end.

One skeleton grabbed hold of Thalia's ankle but was immediately greeted with a stygian iron sword, courtesy of Nico. Every now and then, he would raise a skeleton himself and make it attack others of the undead.

I saw Thalia alternate from shooting electric arrows at the skeletons to deflecting arcs of lightning from its path. She would occasionally redirect a couple of lightning shots and make it hit the skeletons who would then burst into a pile of ashes. Nico alternated from using his sword to using his son of Hades powers. He would point to some skeletons and mutter "serve me" and then the cool part comes. The skeletons turn and attack the others with their bones. It was cool and gross at the same time!

Finally, Thalia had had enough. She closed her eyes and raised her right arm, hand outstretched. She concentrated and I could gradually feel the air around as move. I could tell Nico did too because he was looking around him. I saw the air around us move even more, knocking skeletons of their feet and deflecting in-coming lightning arcs. It was pretty awesome.

The air moved faster and formed a dome-like shape above us.

_An air dome! That's so cool!_

I couldn't bask in awe any longer because Thalia collapsed to her knees, her breathing turned hard but her hand still outstretched. Me and Nico were at her side in an instant. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the arcs of lightning stop.

"It's ok now, Thals. Lightning's gone, you can stop." Beads of sweat dropped down her face as she let her arm drop to her side. She was still breathing pretty hard. Nico was the same only with les sweat and he looked paler than usual. I laid Thalia on her back, with her protesting of course.

"I'm ok, Percy. I can fight. Don't treat me like some invalid person. I'm a hunter for Olympus' sake." I rolled my eyes.

"I think you've done enough Thals. You too Nico." Nico looked like he was about to protest when he sighed and sat on the grass. A few minutes later, he collapsed completely and was out like a light. Thalia chuckled at him, while I looked at him worried, after checking to make sure he was okay. I suddenly felt something drip on my head.

I looked up and a few more drops of water fell on me. The same happened all around the clearing. Soon, a downpour came, making it hard to see even with my son of Poseidon powers. I could faintly hear Thalia cursing. The rain continued, giving me more strength and sharpening my vision a bit. I kept my senses open because even with the energy boost, now it means it's my dad's turn to test me. The skeletons were Hades testing Nico and the lighting was for Thalia. I guess it's my turn now.

My eyes darted left to right as I held Riptide in front of me, ready to protect Nico and Thalia from harm's way.

Out of nowhere, a tendril made out of water shot at me. I raised Riptide to defend myself but then the water completely evaded me and aimed itself at Nico who was still unconscious. The water hardened and turned into an ice tendril, aimed directly at my boyfriend's undefended chest. Even Thalia couldn't help because she could barely see in this rain.

"NO!"

I don't know what happened next. All I thought about was getting in front of Nico and lo and behold, I found myself there. I didn't take a step forward but I found myself in front of Nico and an incoming ice tendril. Instincts kicked in and I thrust my hand out, hand open. The tendril suddenly stopped in its onslaught a mere foot away from me. I closed my hand into a fist and the ice broke. Well, it cracked first here and there before breaking into a million pieces.

The rain slowed into a drizzle. I looked at the sky dazedly and instinct told me to raise my hand. I did and willed the clouds to part. To my utter astonishment (and Thalia's too) the clouds parted, showing a clear blue sky behind them. The rain stopped and the darkness that was surrounding us disappeared, leaving us (mainly Thalia and Nico) wet, weakened and tired (again, mostly Nico). Me and Thalia looked at each other briefly before we heard clapping.

A couple of meter to our right, Hades, Zeus, Dad, Artemis, Annabeth and surprisingly, Hera were clapping, completely awed. Despite of our slight fatigue, me and Thalia grinned. I took Nico and picked him up, bridal style. Slowly and carefully, we walked towards the gods and Annabeth. I also noticed that the table now contained three glasses of Nectar and a small plate of Ambrosia.

Hades took Nico from me and set him on a wooden bench big enough to fit four people in it. Then we collapsed into opposite chairs, wanting nothing more than to eat and sleep.

"That was a great display of power." Hera suddenly said. I saw Annabeth shot her a look of disbelief but thankfully, the Queen of the gods didn't see it.

"Yes. A great display of power, will power, endurance and friendship. I can also see why Thalia became my lieutenant." Artemis added. Zeus seemed pleased that his demigod daughter was being praised. A hand fell on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Dad grinning down at me.

"Good job, son." He said, clapping my shoulder twice and offering me some well deserved and needed water.

"Thanks." I felt a hand on my knee and looked to see Nico who had taken a seat beside me on the fluffy couch, after taking Ambrosia and Nectar of course, but he was still pale. "Nice skeleton bone-kicking."

Nico just smiled and shrugged like it was nothing.

Annabeth looked at me and asked.

"So, mind telling me how you got from 5 feet away to right in front of Nico?" she asked. I tilted my head to the side in confusion before shrugging. "I don't know." I plucked a small Ambrosia square form the table and chewed on it. It still tasted like cookies to me, this time with a hint of that chocolate cake I got from Chiron as a birthday gift. Man, that was one good chocolate. Eh, I'm getting side-tracked again.

I could almost _see _the gears running in Annabeth's head as she tried to think of how I manage to "teleport". Dad chuckled not so softly.

"Let me explain that, Ms. Chase." Annabeth blushed, remembering her dad. "Annabeth is fine, Lord Poseidon." This made dad smile.

"Alright then, Annabeth. You see, what Percy did is what I like to call _vapor travel_. In a way, it's like my brother's famous shadow travel only we use water instead of shadows." Annabeth, Thalia's and Nico's jaw dropped to the floor while all I was thinking about was the feeling when I did it.

"But I've done shadow travelling before and I had that umm, _cold_ feeling. This time, if what I did was equivalent-" Thalia cut me off. "Big word usage there, Jackson." I stuck my tongue out at her and continued as if I was never interrupted. "-to shadow travelling, shouldn't I have felt _something_? Like a prick of a needle or like plunging my hand into warm water or something?"

Dad frowned. "Well, as a half-blood, you should have felt something like someone patted your guts lightly. Does that even make sense because I don't think you can pat someone's guts. It sounds gross too." The mindless comment made everyone chuckle or smile at least. "For you not to feel that, Percy, it would only mean you have either done it before or your powers have enable you to do it with nothing but a thought; not distracting you with any extra motions or pains whatsoever."

I could tell the last option didn't fit well with Zeus and Hades. After Dad's explanation they both looked at me like I was an experiment.

"So you're telling us, Uncle, that this boy is powerful?" Artemis asked. Poseidon looked like he thought about it jokingly before grinning.

"Pretty much." Zeus narrowed his eyes at me while Hades, Artemis and Hera looked like they didn't really care but were still somewhat curious. Annabeth, Nico and Thalia looked like they all agreed to dad's statement. Apparently, Hera saw the eye-narrowing as not long later, she was chastising Zeus.

"Now, Zeus, let the matter go. We all know Poseidon's children are stronger than most." The King of the gods looked baffled while Dad just smirked at him. Then Zeus turned to Artemis and Thalia.

"Aren't you going to say something?" His two daughters shrugged. "I would disagree normally, but Percy _is_ stronger than me, so I really can't." Thalia said. Zeus looked desperately at Artemis who shook her head. "Sorry, father. But sons or rather, children of Uncle Poseidon are usually stronger than most." Zeus pouted and sulked in his chair. This caused all the gods minus Artemis to sigh.

"I _knew_ we should have made you the god of theatre. You would fit the role perfectly!" Hera muttered. Zeus looked horrified while Dad and Hades were laughing their butts off. Artemis managed a small smile.

"I give up." Zeus muttered. Poseidon and Hades shared a look. "What did you say, brother?" Hades goaded, pretending to be innocent. "I don't think we heard the last bit." Zeus just grumbled. This caused all of us to laugh.

I'll be honest, maybe I misjudged the gods a bit. I mean, Hades is taking care of Nico; Hera's being nice to us demigods; Artemis is standing here, around _men_; and Zeus wasn't being arrogant. In the distance, I heard a soft ringing of laughter, some slight banging from the forges and the talking of gods and other immortals in the nearby market.

I stood and stretched. Then I took Riptide from my pocket and turned to Nico who was munching on some cake.

" Ok. One, where'd you get the cake? And two, you up for some daily sparring?" Death Breath smirked, put down his cake on the table and took his sword from his belt. Thalia smirked at me too.

"Prepare to lose, Seaweed Brain." he said, walking away from the others, me following him. "Yeah right, Death Breath."

I could feel the eyes of the others on my back as me and Nico got into our positions. Without waiting for any signal, we rushed at each other as if we rehearsed it all along. We were evenly matched and I could tell that the gods were thoroughly impressed. I hand't realize we'd been sparring for a few hours until Dad stopped us.

"Alright, you two. Don't you think it's time to stop? Apollo's nearly finished with his duties."

Nico and I were panting hard but relented to each other. I heard Artemis flash out, probably to get ready for her nightly journey across the sky. Thalia handed the both is some towels.

"You guys did great."

"Thanks."

After a piece of ambrosia, the big three stood and told us to hold on as we were going to the nightly concert. Nico, Thalia and I groaned again but did so without further complaining. Nico held my hand and we flashed out of the clearing and into what seemed to be a huge pavilion. There, I saw Will and Apollo on stage, tuning guitars and lyres along with the Muses. Not long later, people started arriving and the place became full of immortals and the few demigods that were on Olympus for our reading session.

Apollo smiled brightly, pun intended. He flashed a grin at the demigods especially, then a wink to Will before taking the mic.

"This performance tonight, which my son Will-" he gestured to Will who waved to the crowd. "as well as myself are joining, will be dedicated to the demigods who are with us today. Have a nice night." Apollo started to move away before he seemed to remember something. He instantly grabbed the mic again and looked at the moon (which was really Artemis on her chariot). "Hey sis! You might wanna be here tonight. Please?" Most of the immortals grinned at the sun god while some rolled their eyes. I was one of those who grinned _and _rolled their eyes.

An arrow made it's way to the floor, in front of Apollo with a note attached to it. Apollo picked it up, read the note, grinned and went down the stage. Will and the Muses started strumming their instruments as Apollo got back on the stage after a few moments.

The songs began and I can definitely say, I had the time of my life…. For now at least.

* * *

AN: I really appreciate that_ "Magicdemi-god223" _let me use her idea for this chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Percy woke up to see his room. Well, _room_ isn't really the right word to describe it. It was 16 meter long and the ceiling was 9 meters high. One side of the wall was covered with a navy blue curtain but behind that was a glass wall which overlooked the skylines of New York. Rays of light were able to pass through the curtain and illuminated the room a bit. The walls were light blue with sea-green trimmings, with sea shells carved into it. The floor was covered by a carpet the same color as sand. This was _his_ room… temporarily at least.

Percy sat up slowly and looked to his left to wake up Nico who was sharing the fantastic place with him. What he saw instead was a very badly made bed, as if someone tried to fix it while fighting a hellhound. Percy frowned. Nico was supposed to be sleeping. So where was he?

Percy unwillingly stood up from the soft, comfy bed and proceeded to the bathroom, doing his usual morning routine. After 20 minutes of bathing, tooth-brushing, hair combing and putting on clothes, the Savior of Olympus exited the bathroom. He put on his shoes before slipping out of the guestroom. Percy walked to the right, took the first left, passed three doors, took a right and ultimately stopped in his tracks. Why, you may ask? In front of him was the weirdest sight he had ever seen, and that's saying something.

Where the kitchen was, there were 11 tangled demigods on the floor, with flour, icing and cracked eggs on them. A few ways away, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Ares and Dionysus were in the same condition as the demigods only without the eggs. Hephaestus stood awkwardly to the side along with the Big Three. The 3 elder gods two were trying to hide smirks and smiles. On another side, Hestia and Demeter were trying to clean the counter while Hera was gazing at the tangled people with disapproval. Athena was sitting on a table, reading what seemed to be a classic novel, ignoring everyone around her.

Everyone was too busy to notice that Percy had arrived. He shrugged it off, not wanting to deal with it so early in the morning and went to the fridge at the right hand corner, near the counter where Demeter and Hestia were cleaning. He opened the fridge and took out a box full of chocolate cookies, and then he got a plate from the cupboard, filled it with cookies and heated it in the microwave for 1 minute and a half.

When it was over, he went to the now clean counter, grabbing a stool on the way and sat down, munching on a chocolate chip cookie. He was half-way through his fifth cookie when he noticed that it suddenly got quiet. He looked up and found everyone staring at him. The hero just blinked at them and munched on another cookie.

Percy held eye contact for what seemed to be ten minutes. Everyone in the room has a stare off with Percy until one by one, they all looked away. Percy inwardly smirked and swallowed the remainder of his cookie. Then he drank the glass of water which Hestia placed on the counter. Then Percy smiled.

"Good morning, everyone." He says cheerfully as if the last five minutes never happened. All the demigods grinned and said their own greetings.

Zeus and Athena checked the clock on the wall and shared a look.

"Alright, breakfast is over." Athena announced. "Aww!" Hermes and Apollo pouted. "But we haven't eaten yet!" The wisdom goddess rolled her eyes.

"Well now, if you had just sat down instead of causing a fight, you would have been able to eat." Hermes was about to retort when Zeus stopped him.

"That's enough Hermes. Alright, everyone to the throne room. We'll have light snacks prepared there seeing as this morning's breakfast was… _disturbed_."

Everyone nodded and started moving to the Throne Room. Once they were there, Athena picked up the book which was placed on her throne and began but Demeter cut her off.

"Before we start, would it be possible to bring Persephone here? I do believe she deserves a break from the underworld." She said. Both Katie and Hades smiled at the thought of having Persephone there. Zeus looked at Athena who nodded her head in encouragement.

"Alright then, sister. Persephone may come. Hermes, if you will?" Hermes looked up, nodded and was about to rise from his throne when Hades interrupted.

"Actually, brother, I'll go." Without waiting for Zeus' approval, Hades blended into the shadows. Hermes blinked, nodded his head a couple of times and sat back on his throne, listening to his Ipod along with Apollo while waiting. A couple of minutes later, the shadows bended and retreated, revealing the forms of Hades and Persephone beside him. Persephone bowed at the gods.

"You requested for me, Lord Zeus?" Persephone asked. Demeter slipped off her throne and hugged her daughter. "Welcome back to Olympus, my dear." Persephone smiled and hugged back.

"Thank you, mother." Persephone nodded to the other gods, who nodded (or in Hermes' and Apollo's case, waved) back. Then she turned to the demigods butonly one particular half-blood caught her eye.

"Katie!" She exclaimed. Said demigoddess looked up from her rose. Katie's eyes widened and a grin was forming on her face. Then she surprised the gods by standing up and hugging Persephone.

"Hey there, Seph." The gods and demigods looked at each other. _Seph?_ The two daughters of Demeter were chatting before Zeus cleared his throat. Katie blushed a deep red while Persephone looked sheepishly at the King of the gods.

Zeus made a throne made out of roses appear beside Hades', much to Demeter's dismay.

"Thank you, Lord Zeus." Persephone bowed to Zeus, winked at Katie, who let out another grin and sat beside her husband who took her hand into his.

Just Persephone's presence brought out a more vulnerable side to Hades. Now, he had his wife and son in the same room. The Lord of the dead couldn't have been happier at the moment. Will deemed it safe to start reading as no more interruptions would come.

* * *

**"I Place An Underwater Phone Call," **Athena read.

**I'd never seen Camp Half-Blood in winter before, and the snow surprised me. See, the camp has the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Mr. D, wants it to. **

"Well if you haven't, you must have missed out a lot in life." Thalia said.

"**Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met –" **

"**I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."**

"**I'll show you the way," Grover offered.**

"**We know the way."**

"**Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't" – he tripped over a canoe and came up sill taking – "like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"**

Everyone snickered at that.

**Zoe rolled her eyes, but I guess she figured there was no getting rid of Grover.**

"Yeah that's right! You can …" Thalia stopped instantly once Artemis and Zeus gave her a look like it was some sort of warning.

**The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just turned away.**

"**Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the hunters.**

"Apollo!" Artemis shouted at the sky. "You do not call my hunters sweethearts, how many times do I have to tell you that?"

Everyone looked at Artemis who still had her fists balled up at her sides, Athena stopped reading, unsure whether she should continue or not. Soon Artemis began to calm down with a little help from Thalia, and gestured for Athena to continue.

**Nico was still looking grumpy. I wondered what his sister had told him.**

"**Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."**

Nico blushed a shade of deep red, while everyone was rolling on the floor, laughing at him, except Percy, who was just chuckling at him.

"**Our activities director," I said. "He's … well, you'll see."**

"**If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go."**

"Hey!" Thalia said. "Who says we don't like Chiron?"

Athena took one glance at the two and continued reading, stopping the fight that would've occurred between Nico and Thalia. Trust me you don't want the Goddess of Wisdom angry.

**The second thing that surprised me about camp was how empty it was. **

**I spotted Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stroking the forge outside the camp armory.**

Everyone looked at him, who was currently holding hands with Silena, looking beyond happy, as did Silena.

Then everyone looked at Aphrodite and Hephaestus, who were also holding hands, while Ares huffed, though nobody payed any attention to him.

**A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it. Even my old rival from the Ares cabin, Clarisse, didn't seem to be around. **

Ares was then wondering why Clarisse wasn't at camp.

As was the rest of the gods, while the demigods were thinking about the battle of the Labyrinth.

**Chiron's beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He smiled when he saw us. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be-"**

"**Nico di Angelo," I said. "He and his sister are half-bloods."**

**Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."**

"**Well …"**

**His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"**

"**Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice. "Not another one lost."**

**I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. (Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life.)**

Everyone cracked up, not including Dionysus.

"I don't think I can recall a day Dionysus has ran? Hmmm …" Athena tilted her head slightly.

"**Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."**

"**Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or Pg? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict –"**

"**It's PG-13," Grover said."**

"Really Nico? Really? I wonder how your sister used to deal with you."

"Do. Not. Talk. About. My. Sister. That. Way." Nico's eyes grew dangerously dark. He was gripping his Stygian iron sword tightly, almost as if debating whether or not to slice Rachel to bits. As was Percy, Hades, and Thalia.

"Yes, I agree. You do not talk about a fine huntress that way." Artemis added in.

"Haha moving on." Annabeth said, trying to lighten the mood. And Athena continued.

"**Now, Chiron said to Thalia and me, "perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story." **

**When we were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately."**

"**I'll go," Thalia and I said at the same time.**

**Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"**

"**From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell –"**

"**Annabeth," I snapped. She'd gone to camp since she was seven, and still Mr. D pretended not to know her name.**

"Percy, you actually said that to Mr. D? I'm surprised you're still alive!" Nico shook his head at me. "You're such a seaweed brain!"

"**Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace her. So I see no point risking further half bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead."**

**I wanted to strangle Mr. D. **

"**Annabeth may be alive," Chiron said, but I could tell he was having trouble sounding upbeat."**

"Of course Chiron would." Annabeth said. "He was like a father to me, even now." Athena smiled.

"**She's very bright. If … if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."**

"**That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive."**

"**In which case," said Mr. D, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."**

"Let me guess, you're probably going get almost incinerated by Dionysus" Apollo said.

"**I got up from the table.**

"**Percy." Chiron's tone was full of warning. **

"**You're glad to lose another camper," I said. "You'd like it if we all disappeared!"**

**Mr. D stifled a yawn. "You have a point?"**

"**Yeah," I growled. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping a little!"**

"Guess? I was right." Apollo said smugly.

The gods and the demigods just face palmed, while Dionysus glared at Percy.

**For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected in Mr. D's eyes, giving him a sinister look. He opened his mouth to say something – a curse that would blast me to smithereens – when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover.**

"Glad to know, I probably just saved your life, there Percy." Nico said.

"I'm pretty sure you did".Percy said, then pecking him on the lips.

"**SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're … you're a centaur!"**

"**And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"**

**Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look of loathing. "The wine dude?"**

"**Dionysus, right. Oh, wow! I've got your figurine." **

"**My figurine."**

"Well of course he does," Grover chimed in. "He has figurines of all the gods! Oh Nico by the way, I still don't understand the game, even after you've explained it to me like a billion times."

"Grover, please just shut up before I summon a bunch of skeleton warriors."

Grover whimpered.

Hades grinned evilly at that.

"**In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"**

"Oh trust me Nico, Mr. D definitely has more than five hundred attack points." Thalia said.

"Well I know that."

"**Ah." Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. "Well, that's … gratifying."**

"So I did actually save your life back there." Nico commented

"Yes, thanks Nico."

Nico kissed him, Percy returned it, while making it into a make-out session. Which probably weirded out their parents and the rest of the gods.

"**Percy," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."**

"**Capture the flag?" I asked. "But we don't have enough-"**

**It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."**

"**Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly."**

"Thalia," Artemis said. "I'm glad you appreciate the hunters so much."

"Sorry my lady."

Artemis just chuckled, her eyes twinkling with affection for Thalia and her other hunters.

Apollo huffed and muttered, "Why can't she be nice to me like that"

Artemis, who heard him, retorted. "Well if you stop being so immature, maybe I would be."

The gods and demigods just watched in amusement, though Hermes even summoned a bag of popcorn.

**Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points the gods had in his game. "Run along now," Chiron told us.**

"**Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on Percy"**

**She hauled me out of the Big House before Dionysus could remember that he wanted to kill me.**

"**You've already got Ares on your bad side," Thalia reminded me as we trudged towards the cabins. "You need another immortal enemy?"**

"**Sorry," I said. "I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair."**

"**Percy, everything is unfair," Thalia muttered. "Sometimes I wish …"**

**She didn't finish, but her tone was so sad I felt sorry for her. **

"**We'll get Annabeth back," I promised. "I just don't know how yet."**

"**First I found out that Luke is lost," she said. "Now Annabeth-"**

Thalia sighed. "Luke."

Zeus looked at his daughter, worried. While Hermes was trying not to break down, even though he knew his fate, but sometimes he wished it wasn't him.

"**You're right. She straightened up. "We'll find a way."**

"**You circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about capture the flag tomorrow."**

"**Hey, Thalia."**

"**Yeah?"**

"**I'm sorry about what happened at Westover. I should've waited for you guys."**

"**S okay, Percy. I probably would've done the same thing." She shifted from foot to foot, like she was trying to decide whether or not to say more." You know, you asked about my mom and I kinda snapped at you. It's just … I went back to find her after seven years, and I found out she died in Los Angeles. She, um… she was a heavy drinker, and apparently she was out driving late one night about two years ago, and…" Thalia blinked hard.**

"**I'm sorry."**

"Thalia, I shouldn't have asked. I'm still really sorry."

"It's ok Percy. Continue please, Lady Athena."

"**Yeah, well. It's … it's not like we were ever close. I ran away when I was ten. Best two years of my life were when I was running around with Luke and Annabeth. But still –"**

Annabeth gave Thalia a sad smile, and rubbed her back.

**I was sorry I'd said anything. Thalia's expression was dangerously close to Zeus's, the one time I'd seen him get angry – like any minute, her eyes would shoot a million volts. **

"Percy, my eyes can't shoot a million volts."

**I made the rounds, telling everybody about capture the flag. I woke up some Ares kid from his midday nap and he yelled at me to go away. When I asked him where Clarisse was he said, "Went on a quest for Chiron. Top secret!"**

"Yeah, top secret."

Annabeth just shook her head at me and Athena continued.

**Finally I got to Cabin Three, the cabin of Poseidon. It was a low gray building hewn from sea stone, with shells and coral fossils imprinted in the rock. Inside, it was just as empty as always, except for my bunk. A Minotaur horn hung on the wall next to my pillow.**

**I took Annabeth's baseball cap out of my backpack and set it on my nightstand. I'd give it to her when I found her. And I **_**would**_ **find her.**

"Again, your faith and determination is impressive." Artemis said.

All the male gods, and demigods stared at her in shock. The male hater just complimented Percy.

"Thanks," he mumbled, still dazed.

**I noticed a strange sound—water gurgling—and I realized there was something new in the room. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea.**

**I stepped up to the pool. There was no note attached or anything, but I knew it could only be a gift from Poseidon.**

**I looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad."**

"I'm glad your mom taught you well Percy," Thalia said. "If you didn't thank a god for giving you something, even a few words of advice, let's just say you would not be living a good life"

**The surface rippled. At the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered—a dozen or so golden drachma. I realized what the fountain was for. It was a reminder to keep in touch with my family.**

**I opened the nearest window, and the wintry sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then I fished a coin out of the hot water.**

**"Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," I said, "accept my offering."**

**I tossed a coin into the mist and it disappeared. Then I realized I didn't know who to contact first.**

**My mom? That would've been the "good son" thing to do, but she wouldn't be worried about me yet. She was used to me disappearing for days or weeks at a time.**

"Trust me Percy, she was worried." Thalia said.

"At least you had someone to worry about you Percy." Nico said glumly.

"Don't forget that I worry about you all the time, especially if you're in danger" Percy said, making Nico blush deep red.

Making everyone snicker at how deep Nico's blush was.

**My father? It had been way too long, almost two years, since I'd actually talked to him. But could you even send an Iris-message to a god? I'd never tried. Would it make them mad, like a sales call or something?**

**I hesitated. Then I made up my mind.**

**"Show me Tyson," I requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes."**

"T … Ty … Tyson?" Grover said.

Sometimes I just felt sorry for him. He was scared of the Cyclopes', especially after what happened at the sea of monsters.

**"Tyson!" I yelled.**

**He didn't hear me at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames.**

**"TYSON!"**

**He turned, and his one enormous eye widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin. "Percy!"**

**He dropped the sword blade and ran at me, trying to give me a hug.**

Everyone laughed.

"I love that guy." Nico said.

"Harsh" Percy pouted.

"But probably not as much as I love you" Nico said, making Percy smile brightly at that.

**"How are you?" I asked. "How's the job?"**

**His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands. "I made this!"**

**"That's really cool."**

**"I wrote my name on it. Right there."**

**"Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?"**

**Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war."**

**"What do you mean?"**

**Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. "Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys."**

"A war is going to happen isn't it? Persephone asked. It was the first time she commented so all the gods and demigods were looking at her.

"What? Is something the matter?" All of them suddenly stopped staring and looked at something else.

"Nothing."

Persephone crossed her arms and huffed. Demeter smiled and gave her a small hug. Unfortunately, at the same time, Hades took Persephone's hand as well. The two ended up glaring at each other. Persephone sighed.

**I sort of knew what he was talking about. He meant the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. The fact that they were back now, with the Titan Lord Kronos and his allies gaining strength, was not good.**

**"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.**

**Tyson shook his head sadly. **

"I really wish I could help."

"Percy, you can't." Annabeth said. "Your father's enemies would split you into pieces."

**"Old spirits are protecting the bad boat."**

**"The **_**Princess Andromeda**_**?" I said. "Luke's boat?"**

"Why did he call it the _Princess Andromeda_?" Nico asked.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**"Yes. They make it hard to find. Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise he would smash it."**

**"Smashing it would be good."**

**Tyson perked up, as if he'd just had another thought. "Annabeth! Is she there?"**

**"Oh, well…" My heart felt like a bowling ball. Tyson thought Annabeth was just about the coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter).**

Annabeth smiled.

**"Well, no… she's not here right now."**

**"Tell her hello!" He beamed. "Hello to Annabeth!"**

**"Okay." I fought back a lump in my throat. "I'll do that."**

"Percy, you never told me Tyson said hi."

"Sorry."

**In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something I couldn't make out. Tyson flinched. "Got to get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Brother!"**

**"Okay, tell Dad—"**

**But before I could finish, the vision shimmered and faded. I was alone again in my cabin, feeling even lonelier than before.**

**I was pretty miserable at dinner that night.**

**I mean, the food was excellent as usual. You can't go wrong with barbecue, pizza, and never-empty soda goblets. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm, but we all had to sit with our cabin mates, which meant I was alone at the Poseidon table.**

"I know how that feels." Nico said.

Percy smiled at him reassuring him, and moved him onto his lap, who then rested his head against his shoulder.

**The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family.**

"Well we do treat each other like we are a family." Thalia said.

**When we'd finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty halfhearted. Then he announced the "good will" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception.**

"We seriously need to beat the hunters at capture the flag." I said.

Everyone nodded except Artemis and Thalia, who had a smile on her face.

**Afterward, we all trailed back to our cabins for an early, winter lights out. I was exhausted, which meant I fell asleep easily. That was the good part. The bad part was, I had a nightmare, and even by my standards it was a whopper.**

**Annabeth was on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog.**

**It almost seemed like the Underworld, because I immediately felt claustrophobic and I couldn't see the sky above—just a close, heavy darkness, as if I were in a cave.**

**Annabeth struggled up the hill. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building to rums.**

Annabeth sighed, recalling the memories of the Titan's palace.

**"Thorn!" Annabeth cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" She scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill.**

**She gasped.**

**There was Luke. And he was in pain.**

Hermes cringed.

**He was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around him, fog swirling hungrily. His clothes were in tatters and his face was scratched and drenched with sweat,**

**"Annabeth!" he called. "Help me! Please!"**

**She ran forward.**

**I tried to cry out: **_**He's a traitor! Don't trust him**_**!**

Hermes, Annabeth, and Thalia glared at Percy, who sunk lower into his seat.

**But my voice didn't work in the dream.**

**Annabeth had tears in her eyes. She reached down like she wanted to touch Luke's face, but at the last second she hesitated.**

**"What happened?" she asked.**

**"They left me here," Luke groaned. "Please. It's killing me."**

**I couldn't see what was wrong with him. He seemed to be struggling against some invisible curse, as though the fog were squeezing him to death.**

**"Why should I trust you?" Annabeth asked. Her voice was filled with hurt.**

**"You shouldn't," Luke said. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die."**

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably, touching the grey streak of hair.

_**Let him die**_**, I wanted to scream. Luke had tried to kill us in cold blood too many times. He didn't deserve anything from Annabeth.**

**Then the darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Annabeth rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. She held it somehow—tons of rock. She kept it from collapsing on her and Luke just with her own strength. It was impossible. She shouldn't have been able to do that.**

**Luke rolled free, gasping. "Thanks," he managed.**

**"Help me hold it," Annabeth groaned.**

**Luke caught his breath. His face was covered in grime and sweat. He rose unsteadily.**

**"I knew I could count on you." He began to walk away as the trembling blackness threatened to crush Annabeth.**

Athena glared murderously at the book in her hands. "How dare he treat her daughter like that"

**"HELP ME!" she pleaded,**

**"Oh, don't worry," Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die."**

**The ceiling of darkness began to crumble again, pushing Annabeth against the ground.**

**I sat bolt upright in bed, clawing at the sheets. There was no sound in my cabin except the gurgle of the saltwater spring. The clock on my nightstand read just after midnight.**

**Only a dream, but I was sure of two things: Annabeth was in terrible danger. And Luke was responsible.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Athena said. "Who wants to read?"

Thalia raised her hand.


	7. Chapter 7

**"An old dead friend comes to visit."** Thalia Apollo aloud. "Hmmm … sounds interesting."

**The next morning after breakfast, I told Grover about my dream. We sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.**

"Yeah a real fun game." Juniper said sarcastically. "The satyrs need to stop hitting on us wood nymphs, we hate it when they do that."

**When I told Grover my nightmare, he started twirling his finger in his shaggy leg fur.**

**"A cave ceiling collapsed on her?" he asked.**

Everyone snickered at that.

"So clueless"Annabeth whispered to Rachel, Percy, Nico and Thalia.

**"Yeah. What the heck does that mean?"**

**Grover shook his head. "I don't know. But after what Zoe dreamed—"**

**"Whoa. What do you mean? Zoe had a dream like that?"**

**"I… I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."**

**"Wait, how do you know this?"**

**Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."**

"Satyrs" grumbled Zeus.

**"What for?"**

**"Just to be, you know, near them."**

**"You're a stalker with hooves."**

"So true." Rachel said, while the others murmured their agreement.

**"I am not! Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got real upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene."**

"Of course it would be. You have no idea." Thalia said.

**I tried to imagine that. Argus was the head of security for camp—a big blond dude with eyes all over his body. He rarely showed himself unless something serious was going on. I wouldn't want to place bets on a fight between him and Zoe Nightshade.**

Artemis was now glaring at her brother and Hermes, who looked like they were already placing bets.

**"What did she say?" I asked.**

**Grover grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout… I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her—"**

**"Whoa, wait. How could Artemis be in trouble?"**

**"I… well, finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tail in curlers and—"**

**"He wears curlers in his tail?"**

Everyone laughed.

"I should totally shadow travel to his room at night and take pictures."

"Good idea Nico, and I bet you could make a fortune, selling them to the Stolls." Who in turn, grinned wickedly.

**Grover covered his mouth.**

**"Sorry," I said. "Go on."**

**"Well, Zoe said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoe that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said…" Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"**

**"What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?"**

Ugh I groaned. Everyone else snickered. While Poseidon looked nervous, he particularly did like his son being a Jackolope, while Artemis looked slightly amused.

**"No. I think she meant gone. Taken. Kidnapped."**

**"**_**Kidnapped**_**?" I tried to get my mind around that idea. "How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?"**

**"Well, yeah. I mean, it happened to Persephone."**

**"But she was like, the goddess of **_**flowers**_**."**

Demeter and Persephone scowled at him.

**Grover looked offended. "Springtime."**

**"Whatever. **

Demeter and her daughter, glared at him, making him slouch deeper into his chair.

Percy knew full and well, not to make Demeter mad, especially if its about cereal.

**Artemis is a lot more powerful than that. Who could kidnap her? And why?"**

**Grover shook his head miserably. "I don't know. Kronos?"**

**"He can't be that powerful already. Can he?"**

"Yes he can," Nico mumbled, so that only the demigods heard.

**The last time we'd seen Kronos, he'd been in tiny pieces. Well… we hadn't actually **_**seen**_** him. Thousands of years ago, after the big Titan—God war, the gods had sliced him to bits with his own scythe and scattered his remains in Tartarus, which is like the gods' bottomless recycling bin for their enemies.**

"Only your son, would think that, brother" Said Zeus, earning a glare from him.

**Kronos could influence people with dreams and trick them, but I didn't see how he could physically overcome Artemis if he was still like a pile of evil bark mulch.**

**"I don't know," Grover said. "I think somebody would know if Kronos had re-formed. The gods would be more nervous. But still, it's weird, you having a nightmare the same night as Zoe. It's almost like—"**

**"They're connected," I said.**

"Alert the media!" Thalia practically shouted out. "Percy actually caught on!"

I glared at Thalia, who stuck her tongue out at me.

The gods just watched, amused, in a way they argued just like them.

**I thought about Zoe's nightmare, which she'd had only a few hours after mine.**

**"I've got to talk to Zoe," I said.**

"I don't think that would go very well, since she really hates men" Thalia commented.

**"Um, before you do…" Grover took something out of his coat pocket. It was a three-fold display like a travel brochure. "You remember what you said—about how it was weird the Hunters just happened to show up at Westover Hall? I think they might've been scouting us."**

**"Scouting us? What do you mean?"**

**He gave me the brochure. It was about the Hunters of Artemis. The front read, A WISE CHOICE FOR YOUR FUTURE! Inside were pictures of young maidens doing hunter stuff, chasing monsters, shooting bows. There were captions like: HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! and A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!**

Nico scoffed. "Yeah totally."

Hades and Percy looked at him worried.

**"I found that in Annabeth's backpack," Grover said.**

**I stared at him. "I don't understand."**

**"Well, it seems to me… maybe Annabeth was thinking about joining."**

**I'd like to say I took the news well.**

Which made Hermes and Apollo laugh.

**The truth was, I wanted to strangle the Hunters of Artemis one eternal maiden at a time. **

Artemis glared at him, harshly, making Percy want to bolt from the room.

**The rest of the day I tried to keep busy, but I was worried sick about Annabeth. **

**That night after dinner, I was seriously ready to beat the Hunters at capture the flag. It was going to be a small game: only thirteen Hunters, including Bianca di Angelo, and about the same number of campers.**

**Zoe Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this.**

**The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. I guess Zoe had told them about her nightmare.**

"We're sisters," Thalia said. "We don't keep anything away from each other unless requested to by the orders of Lady Artemis."

Which made Hera smile.

**On our team, we had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin (though it still seemed strange that Clarisse wasn't around), the Stoll brothers and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. It was weird that the Aphrodite cabin wanted to play. Usually they sat on the sidelines, chatted, and checked their reflections in the river and stuff, but when they heard we were fighting the Hunters, they were raring to go.**

"Of course they would." Annabeth said. "They will only put on their battle gear if it's against the hunters of Artemis."

**"I'll show them 'love is worthless,'" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"**

"Ah, just like her mother." Artemis said.

Making Silena and Aphrodite smile.

**That left Thalia and me.**

**"I'll take the offense," Thalia volunteered. "You take defense."**

**"Oh." I hesitated, because I'd been about to say the exact same thing, only reversed.**

"Oh this is not going to be good." Nico and Annabeth said at the same time.

"How would you know that?" I asked both of them.

"If you want to be in a certain position, there's no stopping you." Nico said.

"True"

Annabeth shrugged. "Daughter of the wisdom goddess."

I shrugged, I mean what do you expect from a child of Athena?

**"Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?"**

**Thalia already had Aegis on her arm, and even our own teammates were giving her a wide berth, trying not to cower before the bronze head of Medusa.**

**"Well, I was thinking it would make better offense," Thalia said. "Besides, you've had more practice at defense."**

**I wasn't sure if she was teasing me. I'd had some pretty bad experiences with defense on capture the flag.**

"I'm guessing, that's why you don't like defense" Hermes asked.

Percy nodded.

**My first year, Annabeth had put me out as a kind of bait, and I'd almost been gored to death with spears and killed by a hellhound.**

**"Yeah, no problem," I lied.**

**"Cool." Thalia turned to help some of the Aphrodite kids, who were having trouble suiting up their armor without breaking their nails.**

**Nico di Angelo ran up to me with a big grin on his face.**

Nico groaned and face palmed.

Making everyone laugh.

**"Percy, this is awesome!"**

**His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. **

Nico groaned, again.

**I wondered if there was any way I'd looked that ridiculous when I'd first arrived.**

**Unfortunately, I probably had.**

**Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"**

**"Well… no."**

**"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"**

**"That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides—"**

**"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and—"**

"I should have figured out he was a son of Hades right then and there, but no." Said Percy.

"Well you figured it out eventually" Nico said.

**"Nico, this is serious. Real swords. These can hurt."**

**He stared at me, a little disappointed, and I realized that I'd just sounded like my mother. Whoa. Not a good sign.**

"Aw momma Percy!" Thalia said, trying to fight a fit of laughter.

Annabeth laughed along with her. I swear these two girls could be so evil.

**I patted Nico on the shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. Just follow the team. Stay out of Zoe's way. We'll have a blast."**

"Yeah definitely stay out of Zoe's way." The demigods said simutaniously.

**Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.**

**"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—Camp Half-Blood—shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis—red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"**

"I should have used Annabeth's invisibility cap, then we could have beaten them!"

"Percy, why didn't you think of it then?" asked Nico

"I don't know. Besides I didn't want to use it without her permission. Who knows what Athena would do once she finds out that I used her daughter's gift?"

"I'd probably incinerate you" Muttered Athena. Earning a glare from Poseidon.

**We set our flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It's this cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. If you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron wouldn't let us call the place the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much of a sense of humor.**

**I set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers, figuring he'd be safely out of the way.**

"Thanks for thinking that I'm completely worthless!" Nico grumbled.

"Sorry, but you haven't been trained yet and I didn't want you to get hurt" Percy said, before moving him into his lap and gaving him a kiss, to cheer him up.

**"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."**

**"Got it!"**

**"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."**

**Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work.**

"But it won't" Mumbled Percy.

**Thalia looked at me. "Anything to add, Percy?"**

**"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got four guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help."**

**"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.**

**"Unless you see a golden opportunity," I added.**

**Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post."**

**"Right, unless—"**

**"Percy!" She touched my arm and shocked me.**

**I mean, everybody can give static shocks in the winter, but when Thalia does, it hurts. I guess it's because her dad is the god of lightning. She's been known to fry off people's eyebrows.**

"Yeah Thalia, that hurt quite a lot." Percy said.

Earning a laugh from everyone, mostly because of the expression he had on his face.

**"Sorry," Thalia said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "Now, is everybody clear?"**

**Everybody nodded. We broke into our smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.**

**Silena's group disappeared into the woods on the left. Thalia's group gave it a few seconds, then darted off toward the right.**

**I waited for something to happen. I climbed Zeus's Fist and had a good view over the forest. I remembered how the Hunters had stormed out of the woods when they fought the manticore, and I was prepared for something like that—one huge charge that could overwhelm us. But nothing happened.**

**I caught a glimpse of Silena and her two scouts. They ran through a clearing, followed by five of the Hunters, leading them deep into the woods and away from Thalia. The plan seemed to be working. Then I spotted another clump of Hunters heading to the right, bows ready. They must've spotted Thalia.**

"Probably" Persephone commented

**"What's happening?" Nico demanded, trying to climb up next to me.**

**My mind was racing. Thalia would never get through, but the Hunters were divided. With that many on either flank, their center had to be wide open. If I moved fast…**

**I looked at Beckendorf. "Can you guys hold the fort?"**

**Beckendorf snorted. "Of course."**

**"I'm going in."**

**The Stoll brothers and Nico cheered as I raced toward the boundary line.**

**I was running at top speed and I felt great. I leaped over the creek into enemy territory. I could see their silver flag up ahead, only one guard, who wasn't even looking in my direction. I heard fighting to my left and right, somewhere in the woods. I had it made.**

**The guard turned at the last minute. It was Bianca di Angelo. Her eyes widened as I slammed into her and she went sprawling in the snow.**

"Percy!" Nico hissed.

"Sorry, but you know how it is when I play Capture the Flag"

"I guess that's true" Nico said while leaning on Percy.

**"Sorry!" I yelled. I ripped down the silver silk flag from the tree and took off.**

**I was ten yards away before Bianca managed to yell for help.**

**I thought I was home free.**

_**ZIP**_**. A silvery cord raced across my ankles and fastened to the tree next to me. A trip wire, fired from a bow! Before I could even think about stopping, I went down hard, sprawling in the snow.**

**"Percy!" Thalia yelled, off to my left. "What are you **_**doing**_**?"**

**Before she reached me, an arrow exploded at her feet and a cloud of yellow smoke billowed around her team. They started coughing and gagging. I could smell the gas from across the woods—the horrible smell of sulfur.**

**"No fair!" Thalia gasped. "Fart arrows are unsportsmanlike!"**

"That's not what you would say right now Thalia."

She glared at me, and this time it was my turn to smirk back at her.

**I got up and started running again. Only a few more yards to the creek and I had the game. More arrows whizzed past my ears. A Hunter came out of nowhere and slashed at me with her knife, but I parried and kept running.**

**I heard yelling from our side of the creek. Beckendorf and Nico were running toward me. I thought they were coming to welcome me back, but then I saw they were chasing someone—Zoe Nightshade, racing toward me like a cheetah, dodging campers with no trouble. And she had our flag in her hands.**

"One of the skills you get when you become a hunter." Thalia said smugly.

**"No!" I yelled, and poured on the speed.**

**I was two feet from the water when Zoe bolted across to her own side, slamming into me for good measure.**

"I should have summoned currents or something to keep her from reaching her side. Or I could have made a wall of water."

"That would have been pretty cool." Nico said.

**The Hunters cheered as both sides converged on the creek. Chiron appeared out of the woods, looking grim. He had the Stoll brothers on his back, and it looked as if both of them had taken some nasty whacks to the head. Connor Stoll had two arrows sticking out of his helmet like antennae.**

**"The Hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. Then he muttered, "For the fifty-sixth time in a row."**

The campers groaned. We really didn't need to know that.

**"Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming toward me. She smelled like rotten eggs, and she was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. It took all my willpower not to cower.**

**"What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?" she bellowed.**

**I balled my fists. I'd had enough bad stuff happen to me for one day. I didn't need this. "I got the flag, Thalia!" I shook it in her face. "I saw a chance and I took it!"**

**"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."**

**"You had too many on you!"**

**"Oh, so it's my fault?"**

**"I didn't say that."**

Thalia and I looked apologetically at each other knowing what was going to happen next.

While Nico and Ares smirked, knowing a fight was going to happen.

**"Argh!" Thalia pushed me, and a shock went through my body that blew me backward ten feet into the water. Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs.**

"I really didn't mean to do that," Thalia said. "Anger management problems."

**"Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to—"**

**Anger roared in my ears. A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe.**

**I stood up. "Yeah," I growled. "I didn't mean to, either."**

**Thalia was breathing heavily.**

**"Enough!" Chiron ordered.**

**But Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?"**

**Somehow, it was okay when Annabeth called me that—at least, I'd gotten used to it—but hearing it from Thalia was not cool.**

"Doesn't Nico call you seaweed brain" Apollo asked.

"Yeah, but he's allowed to, but its either that or Kelp Head"

**"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!"**

"How original." Athena said.

"You need better insults" Hermes stated.

**I raised Riptide, but before I could even defend myself, Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into my chest.**

**I sat down hard. There was a burning smell; I had a feeling it was my clothes.**

"You know Thalia, that was my favorite shirt."

"Sorry."

**"Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is **_**enough**_**!"**

**I got to my feet and willed the entire creek to rise. It swirled up, hundreds of gallons of water in a massive icy funnel cloud.**

**"Percy!" Chiron pleaded.**

**I was about to hurl it at Thalia when I saw something in the woods. I lost my anger and my concentration all at once. The water splashed back into the creekbed. Thalia was so surprised she turned to see what I was looking at.**

**Someone… something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.**

**"This is impossible," Chiron said. I'd never heard him sound so nervous. "It… she has never left the attic. Never."**

**And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around our feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.**

"My oracle let the attic" Apollo said, very excited.

**None of us dared move. Then her voice hissed inside my head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.**

"I have to say, that was really creepy." Nico said.

We all nodded in agreement.

_**I am the sprit of Delphi**_**, the voice said. **_**Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python**_**.**

"Wow brother, did you really have to put that in to look cool?" Artemis said.

"Yep, just because I'm so awesome" Apollo stated.

All the gods and demigods just shook their heads at them, thinking one thing. Someone has an ego.

**The Oracle regarded me with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. **_**Approach, Seeker, and ask**_**.**

**Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"**

**The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. **

**The Oracle spoke:**

_**Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,**_

_**One shall be lost in the land without rain,**_

Nico collapsed into Percy's arms and cryed, while Percy rubbed his back assuringly.

_**The bane of Olympus shows the trail,**_

_**Campers and Hunters combined prevail,**_

_**The Titan's curse must one withstand,**_

_**And one shall perish by a parent's hand**_**.**

"Zoe..." mumbled Artemis.

**Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.**

"That's the end of the chapter. Who wants to go next?" Thalia asked.


	8. Chapter 8

"I'll read." Nico said.

**"Everybody Hates Me But The Horse,"**

**The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself.**

**Instead, Grover and I were elected to carry her. I didn't figure that was because we were the most popular.**

"You aren't" Thalia said.

"Wow, thanks Thalia, for boasting my spirits" Percy sarcastically replied

**The whole camp would be mad at me for losing the game to the Hunters, and then there was the new prophecy from the Oracle. It was like the spirit of Delphi had gone out of her way to exclude me. She ignored my question and walked half a mile to talk to Zoe. **_**And**_** she'd said nothing, not even a hint, about Annabeth.**

"Sometimes helping others, is the best way to help yourself." Katie said.

"Katie you just said something, I or my children would say. You'd really make a good daughter of mine" Athena commented

Demeter and Persephone looked at her proud that she was her daughter/sister.

"**What will Chiron do?" I asked Grover.**

"**I wish I knew." He looked wistfully out the second floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there."**

"**Searching for Annabeth?"**

**He had a little trouble focusing on me. Then he blushed. "Oh, right. That too. Of course."**

"Wow thanks a lot Grover, nice to know I have friends that care." Annabeth said with a sarcastic tone.

Grover said nothing; instead he blushed a deep shade of red.

"Sorry," he said.

"**Why?" I asked. "What were you thinking?"**

**He clopped his hooves uneasily. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder … if all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe … maybe not all of them are evil."**

"Pan" Grover mumbled.

Nico, Percy, and Annabeth gave him an assuring smile.

"**You mean Pan."**

"Hermes smiled at the mention of his son.

**I felt kind of selfish, because I'd totally forgotten about Grover's life ambition The nature god had gone missing two thousand years ago. He was rumored to have died, but the satyrs didn't believe that. They were determined to find him. They'd been searching in vain for centuries, and Grover was convinced he'd be the one to succeed.**

Grover sighed. "If only …"

"Grover," Percy whispered. "Remember what Pan told you? Respect his last wish."

"Yeah Perce, I'll try."

**This year, with Chiron putting all the satyrs on emergency duty to find half-bloods, Grover hadn't been able to continue his search. It must've been driving him nuts.**

**I didn't know what to say. I wanted to encourage him, but I didn't know how. My optimism had pretty much been trampled into the snow out there in the woods, along with our capture-the-flag hopes.**

**Before I could respond, Thalia tromped up the stairs. She was officially not talking to me now, but she looked at Grover and said, "Tell Percy to get his butt downstairs."**

"**Why?" I asked.**

"**Did he say something?" Thalia asked Grover.**

"**Um, he asked why."**

Thalia. Zeus said.

Yeah, yeah, I was really mad at him so I refused to talk to him. Thalia replied.

"**Dionysus is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy," she said. "Unfortunately, that includes Percy."**

"How did you enjoy my silent treatment?" Thalia asked Percy.

"It was great fun, first peace I've ever had" Percy replied sarcastically

**Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Bianca di Angelo (who had kind of become Zoe's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia and Grover and I sat along the right, and the other head councilors-Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers-sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary.**

"Ares was silently fuming at that, but knew he couldn't do anything about it.

**Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."**

"**There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."**

Artemis had a small smile on her face, her eyes sparkled bright silver with affection for her hunters.

"**And go where?" Chiron asked.**

"**West!" Bianca said. I was amazed at how different she looked after just a few days with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so you could actually see her face. She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded me of someone famous, but I couldn't think of who.**

"Someone famous Percy? Really?" Thalia said.

"Whatever. How was I supposed to know it was Hades?" Percy retorted.

Nico took one look at them and continued reading. There was no need for another Zeus's child versus Poseidon's child war.

"**You heard the prophecy. **_**Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. **_**We can get five hunters and go."**

"**Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."**

"**You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said. **_**"Campers and Hunters combined prevail. **_**We're supposed to do this together." **

"**No!" Zoe said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."**

"_**You," **_**Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said **_**thy**_** in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times."**

"**I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."**

"**Or do they?" Mr D used, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. **_**"One shall be lose. One shall perish. **_**That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"**

"As horrible as he is, Mr. D does have a point." Annabeth stated. Though Dionysus wasn't paying attention, since he was reading a wine magazine.

"**Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "With all due respect, whose side are you on?"**

**Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."**

"**We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"**

**Zoe grimaced, but I could tell Thalia had scored a point.**

"I like the way you put that Percy." Thalia said.

"**We must no delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."**

"**Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."**

Zeus glared at Dionysus, who sank into his throne.

Zeus might not agree with the meetings being dull, but it's usually always taken up by the big three arguing about one point or another.

"**Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."**

"That is true" Demeter thought.

"**I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."**

"**Three and two," I said.**

**Everybody looked at me. Thalia even forgot to ignore me.**

"That's very unusual." Annabeth said. "It's very rare that Thalia would forget. She once ignored Luke for 3 days straight!"

"**We're supposed to have five," I said, feeling self-conscious. "Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair."**

**Thalia and Zoe exchanged looks.**

"**Well," Thalia said. "It does make sense."**

**Zoe grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We still need strength of numbers."**

"**You'll be retracing the goddess' path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: **_**The bane of Olympus shows the trail. **_**What would your mistress say? Too many Hunters spoil the scent'. A small group is best."**

"**Chiron," I said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"**

**Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. You father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."**

"Not the monster itself, but it would make an individual more powerful." Athena stated.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"_**One shall be lost in the land without rain," **_**Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."**

**There was a muttering of agreement.**

Nico sighed. Which resulted in Percy arms around him, giving him a reassuring smile.

Which he return, after muttering thanks.

"_**And the Titan's curse must one withstand," **_**Silena said. "What could that mean?"**

That wasn't a very pleasant experience. Muttered Percy. Making sure only the demigods who were there, except Nico, hear, being afraid that his dad would figure it out and start having a panic attack.

**I saw Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it.**

"_**One shall perish by a parent's hand," **_**Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"**

"She knew all along and she didn't tell us!" Thalia said with tears streaking down her face, her black eyeliner all smudged, trickling down her face.

Zeus looked at his daughter, worried. He wanted to comfort her, but he wasn't sure how.

**I remembered a conversation I'd had last year with Annabeth. I'd asked her, if I was so potentially dangerous, why the gods didn't just kill me**

_**Some of the gods would like to kill you, she'd said But they're afraid of offending Poseidon.**_

"Ares definitely" Percy said. While Ares flinched from the glare that Poseidon was giving him.

**Could an Olympian parent turn against his half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and me. I wondered if maybe I should've sent Poseidon that seashell pattern tie for Father's Day after all.**

"Percy, you're hilarious," Nico said. "Your father loves you very much and you know that."

"I know, but, would you have been scared if you heard _one shall perish by a parent's hand!"_

"If was right when I learned I was a son of Hades, or when Minos tricked me" Nico said, shaking.

Percy pulled Nico into his lap, had his arms firmly around him and said "sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, I should've not blamed you. I was being an idiot, but I'm the one that should be sorry. I hated you and wanted you dead, and I'm really sorry for that. Nico would have kept on talking, but was interrupted by a bruising kiss.

"I know you're sorry for what happened, would we probably be together if it didn't happen" Percy asked

"Probably not, but in a way I am glad all that happened did"

"Me too." Percy said, after pecking him on his lips.

Everyone watched their conversation in interest, while Hades was kinda hoping that in the future, Nico knew he really cared about him.

"**There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."**

"**Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.**

"Dionysus." warned Zeus.

Dionysus gulped under his glare.

**Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of ****_Wine Connoisseur_**** magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me.**

Everyone snickered at the expression on the gods faces, they also thought Mr. D. was talking about the deaths, not the magazine.

"**Percy is right," Silena Beauregard said. "Two campers should go."**

"**Oh, I see," Zoe said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"**

**Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"**

"**A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at," Zoe scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"**

"Not all my children are self-conceited or shallow as you might think" Aphrodite thought bitterly.

"Well you better hope Clarisse doesn't hear that." Annabeth said.

"**Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tended to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"**

**Zoe stood. I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."**

"**The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously.**

Hermes smirked, he knew why Travis was asking.

**Zoe nodded.**

"**The one who put arrows in my helmet?" Connor added.**

"**Yes," Zoe snapped. "Why?"**

"**Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2001, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her."**

Thalia groaned. "No, don't!"

Hermes was smiling at his sons, who smiled back, but they did hesitate.

**I knew the Stolls were up to something. They always were. But I guess Zoe didn't know them as well as I did. She just sighed and took the T-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."**

**Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But … I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."**

"**You will do fine," Zoe insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself."**

"And she did." Thalia commented.

Nico nodded, solemnly.

"**And for campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met mine, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking.**

"**Me! Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap. "Anything to help Artemis!"**

Everyone was laughing at that.

**Zoe wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood."**

"**But he is a camper," Thalia said. "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"**

"**Absolutely!"**

**Zoe wavered. I didn't know what a tracker's song was, but apparently Zoe thought it was a good thing.**

"**Very well," Zoe said. "And the second camper?"**

"**I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.**

**Now, okay, maybe my math skills weren't the best, but it suddenly occurred to me that we'd reached the number five, and I wasn't in the group. "Whoa, wait a sec," I said. "I want to go too." **

"Not another quest!" Poseidon thought. He started to have a panic attack, knowing that he might die if he's on this quest.

Percy who saw this, mouthed to his dad. "I'm fine"

**Thalia said nothing. Chiron was sill studying me, his eyes sad. **

"**Oh," Grover said, suddenly aware of the problem.**

"**Whoa, yeah, I forgot! Percy has to go. I didn't mean … I'll stay. Percy should go in my place."**

"**He cannot," Zoe said. "He is a boy. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy."**

"**You traveled here with me," I reminded her.**

"**That was a short-term emergency, and it was ordered by the goddess. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of a boy."**

"**What about Grover?" I demanded.**

**Zoe shook her head. "He does not count. He's a satyr. He is not technically a boy." **

"**Hey!" Grover protested. **

"It was kind of offensive," Grover commented.

"**I have to go," I said. "I need to be on this quest."**

"**Why?" Zoe asked. "Because of thy friend Annabeth?"**

**I felt myself blushing. I hated that everyone was looking at me. "No!" I mean, partly. I just feel like I'm supposed to go!" **

**Nobody rose to my defense. Mr. D looked bored, still reading his magazine. Silena, the Stoll brothers, and Beckendorf were staring at the table. Bianca gave me a look of pity.**

"**No," Zoe said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a satyr if I must, but not a male hero."**

"Because of Hercules," Percy muttered.

**Chiron sighed. "The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions."**

**My ears were ringing as I sat down. I knew Grover and some of the others were looking at me sympathetically, but I couldn't meet their eyes. I just sat there as Chiron concluded the council.**

"Percy, just how did you get on this quest and save me?" Annabeth and the gods asked.

"You'll see." Percy replied. While Nico smirked.

"**So be it," he said. "Thalia and Grover will accompany Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods" – he glanced at Dionysus – "present company included, we hope – be with you."**

"You must understand, Dionysus dislikes heroes based on personal experience." Athena said.

"That I know about." Percy said.

**I didn't show up for dinner that night, which was a mistake, because Chiron and Grover came looking for me. **

"**Percy, I'm so sorry!" Grover said, sitting next to me on the bunk. "I didn't know they'd – that you'd – Honest!" **

"I'm sorry Percy." Grover said.

"It's ok. Things turned out better I guess, except for Phoebe. I mean I did get to go on the quest."

"You think?" Thalia said.

"**It's okay," I lied. "Really. It's fine."**

**Grover's lower lip trembled. "I wasn't even thinking … I was so focused on helping Artemis. But I promise, I'll look everywhere for Annabeth. If I can find her, I will."**

"Thanks Grover," Annabeth said.

Athena smiled, glad that her friends were trying to find her.

**I nodded and tried to ignore the big crater that was opening in my chest. **

"**Grover," Chiron said, "perhaps you'd let me have a word with Percy?"**

"**Sure," he sniffled.**

**Chiron waited.**

"**Oh," Grover said. "You mean alone. Sure, Chiron." He looked at me miserably. "See? Nobody needs a goat."**

"Grover," Thalia said, "you've always been such a drama queen."

"Sorry, Thalia. The drama queen is over there" Hermes said, while pointing to Zeus.

"I am not drama queen" Zeus grumbled.

**He trotted out the door, blowing his nose on his sleeve.**

**Chiron sighed and knelt on his horse legs. "Percy, I don't pretend to understand prophecies."**

"**Yeah," I said. "Well, maybe that's because they don't make any sense."**

**Chiron gazed at the saltwater spring gurgling in the corner of the room. "Thalia would not have been my first choice to go on this quest. She's too impetuous. She acts without thinking She is too sure of herself." **

"Thanks a lot Chiron." Thalia muttered under her breath.

"**Would you have chose me?"**

"**Frankly no," he said. "You and Thalia are much alike."**

"**Thanks a lot."**

**He smiled. "The difference is that you are less sure of yourself than Thalia That could be good or bad. But one thing I can say: both of you together would be a dangerous thing."**

"**We can handle it."**

"**The way you handled it at the creek tonight?"**

"That is very true" Nico commented.

Suddenly Nico was completely soaked with water.

Percy whistled, trying to look innocent but failing miserably. But then muttered "sorry, but you did deserve it" when he recieved a glare from his boyfriend, but he did dry his clothes.

**I didn't answer. He'd nailed me.**

"**Perhaps it is for the best," Chiron mused. "You can go home to your mother for the holidays. If we need you, we can call."**

"**Yeah, I said. "Maybe."**

**I pulled Riptide out of my pocket and set it on my nightstand. It didn't seem that I'd be using it for anything but writing Christmas cards.**

"Poor Percy." Thalia said.

Percy glared at Thalia.

"Face it Percy, my glares are the best."

"Actually Thalia, Nico's the best at the glares.

True, but only because he's the son of Hades.

Which made Nico and Hades grin evilly. Creeping everyone out besides Percy, who was all to use to this.

**When he saw the pen, Chiron grimaced. "It's no wonder Zoe doesn't want you along, I suppose. Not while you're carrying that particular weapon."**

**I didn't understand what he meant. Then I remembered something he'd told me a long time ago, when he first gave me the magic sword: **_**It has a long and tragic history, which we need not go into.**_

"It is a very tragic history." Hestia muttered

**I wanted to ask him about that, but then he pulled a golden drachma from his saddlebag and tossed it to me. "Call your mother, Percy. Let her know you're coming home in the morning. And, ah, for what it's worth … I almost volunteered for this quest myself. I would have gone, if not for the last line."**

"_**One shall perish by a parent's hand. **_**Yeah."**

**I didn't need to ask. I knew Chiron's dad was Kronos, the evil Titan Lord himself. The line would make perfect sense if Chiron went on the quest. Kronos didn't care for anyone, including his own children.**

**His face darkened. He made a claw over his heart and pushed outward – an ancient gesture for warding off evil. "Let us hope the prophecy does not mean what I think. Now, good night, Percy. And your time will come I'm convinced of that. There's no need to rush."**

"Do you think Chiron knew what the last line of the prophecy meant?" Percy asked.

"I think so," Annabeth said. "You know how Zoe and Chiron sort of shared a glance when that line was said, I think they both knew."

**He said your time the way people did when they meant your death. I didn't know if Chiron meant it that way, but the look in his eyes made me scared to ask.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Percy, Chiron meant the Great Prophecy."

"I know that now" Percy said, while rolling his eyes.

**I stood at the saltwater spring, rubbing Chiron's coin in my hand and trying to figure out what to say to my mom. I really wasn't in the mood to have one more adult tell me that doing nothing was the greatest thing I could do, but I figured my mom deserved an update.**

"Of course she does," Hera said. "Such a strong woman who sacrificed so much for you, her son."

**Finally I took a deep breath and threw in the coin. "O goddess, accept my offering." The mist shimmered. The light from the bathroom was just enough to make a faint rainbow.**

"**Show me Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."**

**And there in the mist was a scene I did not expect. My mom was sitting at our kitchen table with some … guy.**

"That must have been awkward." Nico said.

"Yes it was very awkward."

**They were laughing hysterically. There was a big stack of textbooks between them. The man was, I don't know, thirty-something, with longish salt-and-pepper hair and a brown jacket over a black T-shirt. He looked like an actor – like a guy who might play an undercover cop on television. **

"Nice description." Thalia said, while the rest snickered.

**I was too stunned to say anything, and fortunately, my mom and the guy were too busy laughing to notice my Iris-message.**

**The guy said, "Sally, you're a riot. You want some more wine?"**

"**Ah I shouldn't. You go ahead if you want."**

"**Actually, I'd better use your bathroom. May I?"**

"**Down the hall," she said, trying not to laugh.**

**The actor dude smiled and got up and left.**

"**Mom!" I said.**

**She jumped so hard she almost knocked her textbooks off the table. Finally she focused on me. "Percy! Oh, honey! Is everything okay?"**

"I'm guessing you really surprised her," Nico said.

"Pretty much"

"**What are you doing?" I demanded.**

**She blinked. "Homework." Then she seemed to understand the look on my face. "Oh, honey, that's just Paul – um, Mr. Blofis. He's in my writing seminar."**

"**Mr. Blowfish?"**

Everyone laughed at that. Though two gods fell off their thrones, Hermes and Apollo.

"Percy, you and your father are both the same." Nico said.

"**Blofis. He'll be back in a minute, Percy. Tell me what's wrong."**

**She always knew when something was wrong. I told her about Annabeth. The other stuff too, but mostly it boiled down to Annabeth.**

**My mother's eyes teared up. I could tell she was trying hard to keep it together for my sake. "Oh, Percy …"**

"**Yeah. So they tell me there's nothing I can do. I guess I'll be coming home.**

**She turned her pencil around in her fingers. "Percy, as much as I want you to come home" – she sighed like she was mad at herself – "as much as I want you to be safe, I want you to understand something. You need to do whatever you think you have to."**

**I stared at her. "What do you mean?"**

"**I mean, do you really, deep down, believe that you have to help save her? Do you think it's the right thing to do? Because I know one thing about you, Percy. You hear is always in the right place. Listen to it."**

"**You're … you're telling me to go?"**

**My mother pursed her lips. "I'm telling you that … you're getting too old for me to tell you what to do. I'm telling you that I'll support you, even if what you decide to do is dangerous. I can't believe I'm saying this."**

"**Mom-"**

**The toilet flushed down the hall in our apartment. **

"**I don't have much time," my mom said. "Percy, whatever you decide, I love you. And I know you'll do what's best for Annabeth."**

"**How can you be sure?"**

"**Because she'd do the same for you."**

"That's probably true, but you definitely know that Nico would also." Annabeth commented.

"You already know I would" Nico whispered

"I know, and I'd do the same for you" Percy said, while giving him his signature grin.

Which in turn cause Nico to blush, knowing it was true. He knew Percy would do anything for him, he was sometimes not used to someone wanting to care for him, or even worry about him. That was until he and Percy started dating.

**And with that, my mother waved her hand over the mist, and the connection dissolved, leaving me with one final image of her new friend, Mr. Blowfish smiling down at her.**

"Blofis." Hestia corrected.

**I don't remember falling asleep, but I remember the dream. I was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above me. Annabeth was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass that looked like a pile of boulders. She was too tired even to cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, I knew she would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of her.**

Annabeth shuddered at the memory of holding the sky.

Athena gasped, knowing exactly where she was and what it meant with withstanding the Titan's Curse.

"**How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed.**

**It wasn't Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, like a knife scraped across stone. I' d heard it taunting me many times before in my dreams. But this voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate.**

**Luke emerged from the shadows. He ran to Annabeth, knelt beside her, then looked back at the unseen man. "She's fading. We must hurry."**

**The hypocrite. Like he really cared what happened to her.**

"Luke …" Hermes said quietly.

**The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of my dream. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light – Artemis – her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains.**

**I gasped her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.**

Thalia's body was shaking completely. Her eyes blazing with rage hearing what Atlas had done to her mistress.

Apollo, was looking at his sister in worry, though she payed no attention to him, figuring he was being his normal self.

"**You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"**

**Artemis's eyes flashed with anger I didn't know why she just didn't will the chains to burst, or make herself disappear, but she didn't seem able to. Maybe the chains prevented her, or some magic about this dark, horrible place. **

"The gods are powerless when bound with celestial bronze. It weakens us over time." Athena said.

**The goddess looked at Annabeth and her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!" **

"**She will die soon," Luke said. "You can save her."**

**Annabeth made a weak sound of protest. My heart felt like it was being twisted into a knot. I wanted to run to her, but I couldn't move. **

"**Free my hands," Artemis said.**

**Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess' handcuffs.**

**Artemis ran to Annabeth and took the burden from her shoulders. Annabeth collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the black rocks.**

"Thank you Lady Artemis." Annabeth said.

"Anything for a fine maiden." Artemis replied with a small smile on her lips.

**The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."**

"**You surprised me," the goddess said, straining under her burden "It will not happen again."**

"**Indeed it will not," the an said "Now you are out of the way for good I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear."**

**Artemis groaned. "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."**

"**On that," the man said, "we can agree. Luke you may kill the girl now."**

"**No!" Artemis shouted.**

Athena growled.

**Luke hesitated. "She-she may yet be useful sir. Further bait."**

"**Bah! You truly believe that?"**

"**Yes, General. They will come for her. I'm sure."**

**The man considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard her here. Assuming she does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, her life will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be meaningless."**

"But it didn't go as planned," Thalia, and Percy said.

**Luke gathered up Annabeth's listless body and carried her away from the goddess **

"**You will never find the monster you seek," Artemis said. "Your plan will fail." **

"**How little you know, my young goddess," the man in the shadows said. "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is … challenging."**

**The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse.**

**I woke with a start. I was sure I'd heard a loud banging. **

**I looked around the cabin. It was dark outside. The salt spring still gurgled. No other sounds but the hoot of an owl in the woods and the distant surf on the beach. In the moonlight, on my nightstand, was Annabeth's New York Yankees cap. I stared at it for a second, and then: BANG. BANG.**

**Someone, or something, was pounding on my door. I grabbed Riptide and got out of bed.**

"**Hello?" I called.**

**THUMP. THUMP.**

**I crept to the door.**

"Look!" Thalia said. "The savior of Olympus is scared of monsters."

Percy groaned.

"Thalia just shut up before a make a tidal wave!"

"Those aren't very fun to be in" Nico said, while shuddering.

**I uncapped the blade, flung open the door, and found myself face-to face with a black pegasus.**

_**Whoa, boss! **_**Its voice spoke in my mind as it clopped away from the sword blade. **_**I don't wanna be a horse-ke-bob!**_

"I never knew that the Pegasus had such good humor." Nico said.

"**Blackjack," I said, relieved but a little irritated. "It's the middle of the night!"**

**Blackjack huffed. **_**Ain't either, boss. It's five in the morning. What you still sleeping for**_

Everyone snickered at Blackjack's response.

"**How many times have I told you? Don't call me boss."**

_**Whatever you say, boss. You're the man. You're my number one.**_

Everyone laughed at this.

"Percy's number 1 fan!" Thalia said, while tumbling on the ground with laughter.

"**Blackjack," I said, "you're supposed to stay in the stables"**

_**Meh, the stables. You see Chiron staying in the stables?**_

"**Well … no."**

_**Exactly. Listen, we got another little sea friend needs your help.**_

"**Again?"**

_**Yeah. I told the hippocampi I 'd come get you.**_

**I groaned. Anytime I was anywhere near the beach, the hippocampi would ask me to help them with their problems. And they had a lot of problems. Beached whales, propoises caught in fishing nets, mermaids with hangnails – they'd call me to come underwater and help.**

"Mermaids have hangnails?" Nico asked.

"**All right," I said. "I'm coming."**

_**You're the best, boss.**_

"**And don't call me boss!"**

**Blackjack whinnied softly. It might've been a laugh.**

**I looked back at my comfortable bed. My bronze shield still hung on the wall, dented and unusable. And on my nightstand was Annabeth's magic Yankees cap. On an impulse, I stuck the cap in my pocket. I guess I had a feeling, even then, that I wasn't coming back to my cabin for a long long time.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Nico said. "Who wants to read?"

"I will" Percy said.

"Here, Perce," Nico said, handing him the book.


	9. Chapter 9

**"I Make A Dangerous Promise,"**

"I shouldn't have made you promise that, I'm really sorry" Nico said.

"Nico, do I need to have this conversation with you again" Percy asked.

"Maybe"

"Nico, you forgave me what happened, but I made sure you were safe. Make sure you always remember that I will always make sure you safe" Percy said, before gently giving him a kiss.

**Blackjack gave me a ride down the beach, and I have to admit it was cool. Being on a flying horse, skimming over the waves at a hundred miles an hour with the wind in my hair and the sea spray in my face-hey, it beats waterskiing any day.**

"Well of course it does," Annabeth said. "Waterskiing compared to pegasi riding is like nothing."

"That's why you think," Thalia said, shuddering at the thought of flying in the sky.

_**Here. **_**Blackjack slowed and turned in a circle.**_** Straight down.**_

**I shot down into the darkness.**

**Twenty, thirty, forty feet. The pressure wasn't uncomfortable. I'd never tried to push it-to see if there was a limit to how deep I could dive. I knew most regular humans couldn't go past two hundred feet without crumpling like an aluminum can.**

"Wow Percy, Really?" Thalia said. "You're a son of Poseidon! You can go as deep as you want!"

**As I got closer to the bottom, I saw three hippocampi – fish tailed horses – swimming in a circle around an overturned boat. The hippocampi were beautiful to watch. Their fish tails shimmered in rainbow colors, glowing phosphorescent. Their manes were white, and they were galloping through the water the way nervous horses do in a thunderstorm. Something was upsetting them. **

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Now you notice."

**I got closer and saw the problem. A dark shape – some kind of animal – was wedged halfway under the boat and tangled in a fishing net, one of those big nets they use on trawlers to catch everything at once. I hated those things. It was bad enough they drowned porpoises and dolphins, but the also occasionally caught mythological animals. When the nets got tangled, some lazy fishermen would just cut them loose and let the trapped animals die. **

Grover sighed. "They're wrecking nature! Everything! The corals! Ugh!"

"Grover I know, I'm upset too." Percy said. "We're trying everything we can to save nature. Don't worry G-Man.

**"The hippocampi were swimming around frantically, wanting to help but not sure how. One was trying to chew the net, but hippocampi teeth aren't meant for cutting rope. Hippocampi are really strong, but they don't have hands, and they're not (shhh) all that smart.**

"I'm so going to tell them you said that Percy," Thalia said, giving him an evil smile.

"Thalia!" Percy groaned. "If you weren't a girl, I would've kicked your butt down from Olympus."

"You want to bet Percy?" Thalia replied. "I'm sure Lady Artemis would love to show you what girls are capable of."

Percy shuddered, and shrunk into a small ball on Nico's lap. "N … No thanks," Percy said. "I can't fight her! That's like suicide! Besides, I can't fight off one million arrows in one second."

Artemis smirked.

While everyone else just snickered at them.

_**Free it, lord! **_**A hippocampus said when it saw me. The others joined in, asking the same thing.**

**I swam in for a closer look at the tangled creature. At first I thought it was a young hippocampus. I'd rescued several of them before. But then I heard a strange sound, something that did not belong underwater:**

"**Mooooooo!"**

**I got next to the thing and saw that it was a cow. I mean … I'd heard of sea cows, like manatees and stuff, but this really was a cow with the back end of a serpent. The front half was a calf – a baby, with black fur and big, sad brown eyes and a white muzzle – and its back half was a black-and-brown snaky tail with fins running down the top and bottom, like an enormous eel.**

"That's a pretty good description coming from you," Nico said.

"Thanks for having such great faith in me." Percy muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Nico questioned, his eyes blaring murder.

"What? Um uh … nothing, just um … you're the most beautiful person I've ever met.' Percy stammered.

Nico blushed deep cherry red, and started to laugh. Much to the amusement of Percy.

After Nico stopped laughing, he said, "You know I was only teasing you, Perce, and you fell for it."

Which made Percy blush in embarrassment. Causing the gods, Nico, Thalia, and the Stolls to laugh.

_**We don't know what it is, lord, **_**one of the hippocampi said. **_**Many strange things are stirring.**_

"**Yeah," I murmured. "So I've heard."**

**I uncapped Riptide, and the sword grew to full length in my hands, its bronze blade gleaming in the dark.**

**The cow serpent freaked out and started struggling against the net, its eyes full of terror. "Woah!" I said. "I'm not going to hurt you! Just let me cut the net."**

**But the cow serpent thrashed around and got even more tangled. The boat started to tilt, stirring up the muck on the sea bottom and threatening to topple onto the cow serpent. The hippocampi whinnied in a panic and thrashed in the water, which didn't help.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Percy, you can speak with horses because your father created them. He didn't create cows so it wouldn't have understood what you said. Use your brain!"

"Annabeth, he doesn't have one! It's full of kelp!" Thalia said.

"**Okay, okay!" I said. I put away the sword and started speaking as calmly as I could so the hippocampi and the cow serpent would stop panicking. "It's cool. No sword. See? No sword/ Calm thoughts. Sea grass. Mama cows. Vegetarianism."**

"Mama cows Percy? Wow …" Nico snorted.

**I doubted the cow serpent understood what I was saying, but it responded to the tone of my voice. The hippocampi were all skittish, but they stopped swirling around me quite so fast.**

_**Free it, lord! **_**They pleaded.**

"**Yeah," I said. "I got that part. I'm thinking."**

**But how could I free the cow serpent when she (I decided it was probably a "she") panicked at the sight of a blade? It was like she'd seen swords before and knew how dangerous they were.**

Annabeth shook her head and muttered. "I still can't believe you thought the Ophiotaurus was a girl."

"**All right," I told the hippocampi. "I need all of you to push exactly the way I tell you."**

**First we started with the boat. It wasn't easy, but with the strength of three horsepower, we managed to shift the wreckage so it was no longer threatening to collapse on the baby cow serpent. Then I went to work on the net, untangling it section by section, getting lead weights and fishing hooks straightened out, yanking out knots around the cow serpent's hooves. The whole time, I kept talking to the cow fish, telling her everything was okay while she mooed and moaned.**

"**It's okay, Bessie," I said. Don't ask me why I started calling her that. It just seemed like a good cow name. **

"You named …"

Percy clamped his hand over Nico's mouth, stopping him from saying anything more.

"Continue Grover." Percy said calmly, while Annabeth slapped his hand away.

**Finally, the net came off and the cow serpent zipped through the water ad did a happy somersault.**

**The hippocampi whinnied with joy. **_**Thank you, lord!**_

"**Yeah," I said. "That's okay. Nice cow. Well … stay out of trouble." **

**I shot to the surface and broke through. Immediately Blackjack zoomed down and let me catch hold of his neck. He lifted me into the air and took me back toward the shore. **

_**Success, boss?**_

"**Yeah. We rescued a baby … something or other. Took forever. Almost got stampeded."**

_**Good deeds are always dangerous, boss. You saved my sorry mane, didn't you?**_

**I couldn't help thinking about my dream, with Annabeth crumpled and lifeless in Luke's arms. Here I was rescuing baby monsters, but I could save my friend.**

**As Blackjack flew back toward my cabin, I happened to glance at the dining pavilion. I saw a figure – a boy hunkered down behind a Greek column, like he was hiding from someone.**

**It was Nico, but it wasn't even dawn yet. Nowhere near times for breakfast. What was he doing up there?**

**I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was more time for Nico to tell me about his Mythomagic game.**

"Thanks Percy," Nico muttered; shooting him a death glare.

"Sorry, but you were obsessed with that game."

**But something was wrong. I could tell by the way he was crouching. **

"**Blackjack," I said, "set me down over there, will you? Behind that column."**

**I almost blew it.**

**I was coming up the steps behind Nico. He didn't see me at all/ He was behind a column, peeking around the corner, all his attention focused on the dining area. I was five feet away from him, and I was about to say **_**What are you doing? **_**real loud, when it occurred to me that he was pulling a Grover: he was spying on the hunters.**

"Nice name Percy!" Thalia said, while laughing.

Grover blushed, turning away slightly.

**There were voices – two girls talking at one of the dining tables. At this ungodly hour of the morning? Well unless you're the goddess of dawn, I guess.**

"Eos is the god of dawn Percy," Annabeth stated in the matter of fact way the Athena kids always said things. "Lady Artemis is the goddess of the moon."

**I took Annabeth's magic cap out of my pocket and put it on.**

**I didn't feel any different, but when I raised my arms I couldn't see them. I was invisible.**

"Hence the name invisibility cap," Thalia said.

**I crept up to Nico and sneaked around him. I couldn't see the girls very well in the dark, but I knew their voices. Zoe and Bianca. It sounded like they were arguing.**

"**It cannot be cured," Zoe was saying. "Not quickly, at any rate."**

"**But how did it happen?" Bianca asked.**

"**A foolish prank," Zoe growled. "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of that Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirt with it."**

"So that's how you got on the quest!" Annabeth said.

Percy and Nico nodded.

"**That's terrible!"**

"**She will live," Zoe said. "But she'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go. It's up to me … and thee."**

"**But the prophecy," Bianca said. "If Phoebe can't go, we only have four. We'll have to pick another."**

"**There is no time," Zoe said. "We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose one."**

"**In the land without rain," Bianca said, "but that can't be here."**

"**It might be," Zoe said, though she didn't sound convinced. "The camp has magic borders. Nothing, not even weather, is allowed in without permission. It could be a land without rain."**

"I wish Zoe was right." Nico said quietly.

The rest of the group looked at Nico sadly; full of pity. While Percy just wrapped him arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

"**But –"**

"**Bianca, hear me." Zoe's voice was strained. "I … I can't explain, but I have a sense that we should not pick someone else. It would be too dangerous. They might meet an end worse than Phoebe's. I don't want Chiron choosing a camper as our fifth companion. And … I don't want to risk another Hunter."**

**Bianca was silent. "You should tell Thalia the rest of your dream."**

"**No. It would not help."**

"**But if your suspicions are correct, about the General –"**

"**I have thy word not to talk about that," Zoe said. She sounded really anguished. "We will find out soon enough. Now come. Dawn is breaking."**

**I could tell what Nico was thinking. He took a deep breath and was about to run after his sister when I took off the invisibility cap and said, "Wait."**

**He almost slipped on the icy steps as he spun around to find me. "Where did you come from?"**

"**I've been here the whole time. Invisible."**

"Not a good thing to say Percy," Thalia said. "He'll go on about how cool it is."

**He mouthed the words invisible. Wow. Cool."**

"Exactly my point," she said smugly.

"**How did you know Zoe and your sister were here?"**

**He blushed. "I heard them walk by the Hermes cabin. I don't … I don't sleep too well at camp. So I heard footsteps, and them whispering. And so I kind of followed."**

"**And now you're thinking about following them on the quest," I guessed.**

"**How did you know that?"**

"**Because if it was my sister, I'd probably be thinking the same thing. But you can't."**

**He looked defiant. "Because I'm too young?"**

"**Because they won't let you. They'll catch you and send you back here. And … yeah, because you're too young. You remember the manticore? There will be lots more like that. More dangerous. Some of the heroes will die."**

Nico bit his lip. "What if I had gone? Would I be able to save her?" he muttered to himself.

Percy looked at him and said

"If you went, there would still be no changing the prophecy. Instead, it could've been you who died, or it could still be your sister. Either way, both of you would be hurt, but still a little different. One of you would be physically hurt, while the other emotionally. I don't think I can bear to know you were hurt."

Nico gave him a small smile, before leaning against his shoulder.

"**Maybe you're right. But, but you can go for me."**

"**Say what?"**

"**You can turn invisible. You can go!"**

**"The Hunters don't like boys," I reminded him. "If they find out –"**

"**Don't let them find out. Follow them invisibly. Keep an eye on my sister! You have to. Please?"**

Nico shifted slightly, uncomfortably.

"**Nico –"**

"**You're planning to go anyway, aren't you?"**

**I wanted to say no. But he looked me in the eyes, and I somehow couldn't lie to him.**

"**Yeah," I said. "I have to find Annabeth. I have to help, even if they don't want me to."**

"**I won't tell on you," he said. "But you have to promise to keep my sister safe."**

"**I … that's a big thing to promise, Nico, on a trip like this. Besides, she's got Zoe, Grover, and Thalia –"**

"**Promise," he insisted.**

"Percy," Nico said.

"Yes?"

"I shouldn't have asked you to do that. It's too big of a promise. You had no control over it. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. At least I know that you don't hate me or want me dead anymore." Percy said with a sad smile.

"I could never hate you or want you dead, now." "I just realized we at least had this same conversation at least three times already"

"It doesn't matter how many times we have the same conversation about whatever, as long as you know I'll always be there for you."

"**I'll do my best. I promise that."**

"**Get going, then!" he said. "Good luck!"**

**It was crazy. I wasn't packed. I had nothing but the cap and the sword and the clothes I was wearing. I was supposed to be going home to Manhattan this morning. "Tell Chiron –"**

"**I'll make something up." Nico smiled crookedly. "I'm good at that. Go on!" **

**I ran, putting on Annabeth's cap. As the sun came up, I turned invisible. I hit the top of Half-Blood Hill in time to see the camp's van disappearing down the farm road, probably Argus taking the quest group into the city. After that they would be on their own.**

**I felt a twinge of guilt, and stupidity, too. How was I supposed to keep up with them? Run?**

"Alert the media!" Thalia said. "Percy was stupid!"

"Hey, I can be smart when I want to be"

**Then I heard the beating of huge wings. Blackjack landed next to me. **

_**If I was guessing boss, I'd say you need a getaway horse. You interested?**_

"Even the horse is smarter than you Percy," Thalia said, smirking.

**A lump of gratitude stuck in my throat, but I managed to say, "Yeah. Let's fly."**

"That's the end of the chapter," Percy said. "Anyone?" He waved the book around the air, looking at everyone to see who would volunteer.

"I'll read" Persephone said.


	10. Chapter 10

**"I Learn How To Grow Zombies,"** Persephone read.

"Percy, your not a child of Hades?" Nico said. "Wait, is this when...?"

"Yeah, it is." Percy whispered.

"You know I really didn't mean what I said then"

"I know, but we might want to stop talking, since everyone's staring at us."

Nico blushed, because Persephone had stopped reading and everyone was listening to their conversation. But when they realized they weren't going to reveal anything, Persephone continued.

**The thing about flying on a pegasus during the daytime is that if you're not careful, you can cause a serious traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway. I had to keep Blackjack up in the clouds, which were, fortunately, pretty low in the winter. We darted around, trying to keep the white Camp Half-Blood van in sight. **

"You're lucky Lord Zeus didn't blast you out of the sky," Annabeth said.

"I should have." Zeus said. While earning a glare from Poseidon and Nico.

**We lost the van twice, but I had a pretty good sense that they would go into Manhattan first, so it wasn't too difficult to pick up their trail again. **

**I landed Blackjack near the top of the Chrysler Building and watched the white camp van, thinking it would pull into the bus station, but it just kept driving. **

"**Where's Argus taking them? I muttered.**

_**Oh, Argus ain't driving, boss, **_**Blackjack told me. **_**That girl is.**_

"**Which girl?"**

_**The Hunter girl. With the silver crown thing in her hair.**_

"**Zoe?"**

**That's the one. **

**Meanwhile, the van kept snaking its way toward the Lincoln Tunnel. It had never even occurred to me that Zoe could drive. I mean, she didn't even look sixteen. Then again, she was immortal, I wondered if she had a New York license, and if so, what her birth date said.**

Thalia, Annabeth, and Nico looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Nico rolled his eyes. And whispered, teasing "You do realize that we use the mist!"

Percy turned red, whispering. "I know that now."

Then Nico puts his arms around Percy and whispered in his ear, "Sure you did." Which ended up making Percy shudder.

"**Well," I said. "Let's get after them."**

**We were about to leap off the Chrysler Building when Blackjack whinnied in alarm and almost threw me. Something was curling around my leg like a snake. I reached for m sword, but when I looked down, there was no snake. Vines – grape vines – had sprouted from the cracks between the stones of the building. They were wrapping around Blackjack's legs, lashing down my ankles so we couldn't move.**

"Please tell me that you didn't anger him" Nico said.

"Maybe." Percy replied sheepishly, cause Nico to facepalm and groan.

Which made several demigods and gods to snicker at the two of them.

"**Going somewhere?" Mr. D asked.**

**He was leaning against the building with is feet levitating in the air, his leopard-skin warm-up suit and black hair whipping around in the wind.**

_**God alert! **_**Blackjack yelled. **_**It's the wine dude!**_

Everyone busted up in laughter at that. Though several gods and goddess' fell off their thrones.

Though Dionysus glared at Percy

**Mr. D sighed in exasperation. "The next person, or horse, who calls me the 'wine dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"**

"**Mr. D." I tried to keep my voice calm as the grape vines continued to wrap around my legs. "What do you want?"**

Athena and Annabeth shook their heads. "Not wise, not wise at all."

"Like mother, like daughter" Poseidon muttered.

"**Oh, what do I want? You thought, perhaps, that the immortal, all-powerful director of camp would not notice you leaving without permission?"**

"**Well … maybe."**

"**I should throw you off this building, minus the flying horse, and see how heroic you sound on the way down."**

**I balled up my fists. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but Mr. D was about to kill me or haul me back to camp in shame, and I couldn't stand either idea. **

"**Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?"**

**Purple flames flickered in his eyes. "You're a hero, boy. I need no other reason."**

"**I have to go on this quest! I've got to help my friends. That's something you wouldn't understand!"**

_**Um, boss, **_**Blackjack said nervously. **_**Seeing as how we're wrapped in vines nine hundred feet in the air, you might want to talk nice.**_

"Even the horse gets it," Thalia said.

**The grape vines coiled tighter around me. Below us, the white van was getting farther and farther away. Soon it would be out of sight. **

"**Did I ever tell you about Ariadne?" Mr. D asked. **

Dionysus had a smile on his face at the mention of her.

"**Beautiful young princess of Crete? She liked helping her friends, too. In fact, she helped a young hero named Theseus, also a son of Poseidon. She gave him a ball of magical yarn that let him find his way out of the Labyrinth. And do you know how Theseus rewarded her?"**

**The answer I wanted to give was **_**I don't care! **_**But I didn't figure that would make Mr. D finish his story any faster. **

"**They got married," I said. "Happily ever after. The end."**

"Aphrodite can be nice, and she can be merciless as well," Annabeth said.

Aphrodite glared at Annabeth for her comment.

"I'm just stating the facts!" Annabeth.

Aphrodite nodded, knowing that it was true.

**Mr. D sneered. "Not quite. Theseus said eh would marry her. He took her aboard his ship and sailed for Athens. Halfway back, on a little island called Naxos, he … What's the word you mortals us today? … he dumped her. I found her there, you know. Alone. Heartbroken. Crying her eyes out/ She had given up everything, left everything she knew behind, to help a dashing young hero who tossed her away like a broken sandal."**

"Men, they are all so foolish," Artemis said. "That's the reason why I despise men; the hunters as well. So many have been tossed away like this."

The boys knew better than to say anything.

"**That's wrong," I said. "But that was thousands of years ago What's that got to do with me?"**

**Mr. D regarded me coldly. "I fell in love with Ariadne, boy. I healed her broken heart. And when she died, I made her my immortal wife on Olympus. She waits for me even now. I shall go back to her when I am done with this infernal century of punishment at your ridiculous camp."**

**I stared at him. "You're … you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a wood nymph –" **

"He didn't do that on purpose," Artemis and Athena said. "Eros and his love arrows." Artemis gritted her teeth together.

"**My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you. So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot. Ask Ariadne. Or Medea. For that matter, ask Zoe Nightshade."**

"**What do you mean ask Zoe?"**

"I know now," Percy said softly before anyone could say anything.

Nico saw the look on his face, and gave him a reassuring smile. Which was returned.

**He waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Follow your silly friends."**

**The vines uncurled around my legs **

_**Too close, **_**Blackjack said. **

**Zoe drove south like a crazy person, and we were into Maryland before she finally pulled over at a rest stop. Blackjack darn near tumbled out of the sky, he was so tired. **

_**I'll be okay, boss, **_**he panted. **_**Just … just catching my breath.**_

"Poor creature. He should be rewarded," Hera said.

"**Stay here," I told him. "I'm going to scout."**

_**Stay here' I can handle. I can do that. **_

**I put on my cap of invisibility and walked over to the convenience store.**

"Correction," Annabeth said. "My cap of invisibility, not yours."

**I thought I'd go inside and warm up, maybe get a cup of hot chocolate or something. I had a little change in m pocket. I could leave it on the counter. I was wondering if the cup would turn invisible when I picked it up, or if I'd have to deal with a floating hot chocolate problem, when my whole plan was ruined by Zoe, Thalia, Bianca, and Grover all coming out of the store. **

"Too bad!" Thalia said, poking her tongue out at Percy.

"**Grover are you sure?" Thalia was saying.**

"**Well … pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent."**

"**And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked, like she couldn't believe it.**

**Grover looked offended. "It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right."**

"**D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I …" She frowned. "We used to live there. That's … strange. I'd forgotten."**

"Stupid Casino" Nico muttered.**  
**

"**I dislike this," Zoe said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."**

"**Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.**

**Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!"**

The demigods didn't dare to comment, knowing full and well that Thalia would shock them with lightning.

"**Oh, scullion? You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"**

"A scullion is a servant assigned the most menial kitchen tasks." Annabeth said.

"Thanks Zoe," Thalia muttered.

"**Whoa, you two," Grover said nervously. "Come on. Not again!" **

"**Grover's right," Bianca said. "D.C. is our best bet."**

"Hmmm … totally," Thalia said,

"Well it was," Grover said, his arms folded over his chest.

**Zoe didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep moving."**

"**You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do."**

"**Perhaps," Zoe snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."**

**As Blackjack and I continued south, following the van, I wondered whether Zoe had been kidding.**

**I didn't know exactly when cars were invented, but I figured that was like prehistoric times – back when people watched black and white TV and hunted dinosaurs.**

"Hunted dinosaurs Percy?" Nico asked raising his eyebrows.

Percy just shrugged shyly.

**As we got closer to Washington, Blackjack started slowing down and dropping altitude. He was breathing heavily. **

"**You okay?" I asked him.**

_**Fine, boss. I could … I could take on an army.**_

"**You don't sound so good." And suddenly I felt guilty, because I'd been running ht pegasus for half a day, non-stop, trying to keep up with the highway traffic. Even for a flying horse, that had to be rough.**

"You should really get Blackjack some donuts," Nico said.

"Yeah, I know. I will."

"How would you know he likes donuts?" Persephone asked.

"Well since I'm dating Percy, I was required to meet Blackjack. Though at first he didn't like me, but since Percy is Blackjack's boss. He eventually got used to me, so now he likes me. But I still refuse to go in the air. But I will at least feed him sugar cubes and donuts." Nico said.

"Don't forget you're able to talk to him." Percy said.

"WHAT?! How is that possible, only Poseidon and his children can talk to horses." All the demigods, gods, and goddess' shouted, well except for Percy, Nico, and Poseidon.

"Umm...well you see, Poseidon kinda gave me his blessing, which meant he approves of our relationship. But it allows me to talk to horses, sea creatures, and breath underwater." Nico said, timidly.

Everyone was just looking at him shocked, though the Stolls were exchanging Drachmas.

_**Don't worry about me, boss! I'm a tough one.**_

**I figured he was right, but I also figured Blackjack would run himself into the ground before he complained, and I didn't want that.**

**Fortunately, the van started to slow down. It crossed the Potomac River into central Washington. **

"**Set me down there," I told Blackjack. "That's close enough."**

**Blackjack was so tired he didn't complain. He dropped toward the Washington Monument and set me on the grass. **

**I looked at Blackjack. "I want you to go back to camp. Get some rest. Graze. I'll be fine."**

**Blackjack cocked his head skeptically. **_**You sure, boss?**_

"**You've done enough already," I said. "I'll be fine. And thanks a ton."**

"So loyal," Nico said. "Just like my skeleton warriors."

"You'd better not forget me," Percy said.

"Of course not." Nico said, after pecking his lips.

_**A ton of hay, maybe, **_**Blackjack mused. **_**That sounds good. All right, but be careful, boss. I got a feeling they didn't come here to meet anything friendly and handsome like me.**_

"Blackjack," Nico said. "Always so full of himself, but I guess we love him for that."

**I promised to be careful. Then Blackjack took off, circling twice around the monument before disappearing into the clouds. **

**I** **looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed toward one of the big building lining the mall. Thalia nodded, and the four of them trudged off into cold wind. **

**I started to follow. But then I froze.**

**A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in Washington, you'd expected guys like that to be everywhere. But it dawned on me that I'd seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van.**

"I should have noticed," Thalia said. "That was so stupid of me."

"Yes it was Thalia, yes it was." Nico said. Earning him a shock of lightning. Though Thalia did get soaked by water, by you know who.

**The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. The he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the direction of my friends.**

**The worst of it was: when he turned toward me, I recognized his face. It was Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall. **

"Uhh, really Perce. Him again." Nico said.

"Umm, sorry"

**Invisibility cap on, I followed Thorn from a distance. Thorn kept well back from my friends, careful not to be seen.**

**Finally, Grover stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian! **

**Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold, and school was out of session. They slipped inside.**

**Dr. Thorn hesitated. I wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the Mall. I made a split-second decision and followed him.**

Annabeth nodded. "Nice move."

**Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of National History. There was a big sign on the door. At first I thought I said CLOSED FOR PIRATE EVENT. Then I realized PIRATE must be PRIVATE.**

The gods and demigods just rolled their eyes at Percy.

**I followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and I had to sprint to get inside before the closed them again.**

"That's the bad thing about invisibility," Annabeth mumbled.

**Inside, what I saw was so terrible I almost gasped out loud, which probably would've gotten me killed.**

**I was in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters – reptilian women with double snake trunks instead of legs. I'd seen them before. Annabeth had called them Scythian dracaenae. **

"Great, just what we need, a room full of monsters," Nico said.

**But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the snake women – I could swear he was looking straight down at me – was my old enemy Luke. **

**Net to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All I could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne.**

"Atlas," Percy, Thalia, and Nico hissed venomously.

"**Well? Asked the man in the chair. His voice was just like the one I'd heard in my dream – not as creepy as Kronos's, but deeper and stronger, like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling. **

"Nice comparison," Thalia said. "How ironic."

"**They are here, General."**

"**I know that, you fool," boomed the man. "But where?"**

"**In the rocket museum."**

"**How many?" Luke asked.**

**Thorn pretended not to hear.**

"**How many?" the General demanded.**

"**Four, General," Thorn said. "The satyr, Grover Underwood. And the girl with the spiky black air and the – how do you say – punk clothes and the horrible shield."**

Thalia laughed at his description.

"**Thalia," Luke said.**

"**And two other girls – Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."**

"**That one I know," the General growled.**

**Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.**

"**Now, my boy." The General turned to Luke. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."**

"**The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of," Luke said. "Zoe Nightshade –"**

"**Do not speak her name!"**

Artemis growled.

**Luke swallowed.  
S-sorry, General. I just –"**

**The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my boy, how we will bring the Hunters down." **

**He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"**

**The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"**

"**Plant them," he said.**

"No! It can't be! Tell me they didn't …" Artemis, Hades, and Nico said.

"They did." Percy said glumly.

**In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. I watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.**

**The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General."**

"**Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."**

**The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was a dark red liquid, and I got the feeling it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.**

"Of course not," Nico said. "It's blood!"

**The soil erupted. I stepped back nervously.**

**In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said: "Mew?"**

**It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen rolling around and playing in the dirt.**

**Everyone stared at them in disbelief.**

**The General roared, **_**What is this? Cut cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"**_

**The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear.**

"**From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-tooted tiger –"**

"**No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those … those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."**

**The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.**

"I'm surprised Atlas didn't kill the guard," Grover said.

"**You!" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the **_**right teeth. NOW!"**_

**The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.**

"**Imbeciles," Muttered the General.**

"**This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are too unreliable."**

"Suck up!" Percy muttered under his breath.

"**They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them."**

**A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth.**

"**Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet.**

**Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. **

"**I shall do this myself."**

**He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth-ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself!**

There was a collective gasp from everyone is the room.

**He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. "Rise!"**

**The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping the air.**

**The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?" **

"**Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.**

"No …" Artemis said.

"**Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursuer its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shred. Toss it here!"**

**As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as I watched, turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes – gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. If you didn't look too closely, you could almost believe they were human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images.**

"Those things that were chasing you when I first met you?" Rachel asked Percy.

He nodded.

Rachel shuddered, recalling the memory of the skeleton warriors.

**The snake lady released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoe and the others until they were extinct.**

**I didn't have time to think. I ran and jumped with all my might, plowing in the warriors and snatching the scarf out of the air. **

"Thanks," Thalia said.

"**What's this?" bellowed the General.**

"**An intruder," the General growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!"**

"**It's Percy Jackson!" Luke yelled. "It has to be."**

"Please tell me you didn't get caught," Nico asked, shaking.

"Uhh, no." Percy said sheepishly.

"Now tell me the truth" Nico asked.

Percy didn't answer, making Nico groan.

**I sprinted for the exit, but heard a ripping sound and realized the skeleton warrior had taken a chunk out of my sleeve. When I glanced back, he was holding the fabric up to his nose, sniffing the scent, handing it around to his friends. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I squeezed through the door just as the guards slammed it shut behind me.**

**And then I ran.**

"That's the end of the chapter," Persephone said.


	11. Chapter 11

"Lets read one more chapter, than we'll have lunch." Zeus said. Everyone just nodded their head while Demeter took the book from her daughter and started to read.

**"I Break A Few Rocket Ships,"** Demeter read.

**I tore across the Mall, not daring to look behind me. I burst into the Air and Space Museum and took off my invisibility cap once I was through the admissions area.**

**I had to find Thalia and Grover and the Hunters. Any minute, the skeleton dudes were going to invade the museum, and I didn't think they would settle for an audio tour.**

"No comment, " Percy said. Though he did earn snickers from everyone.

**I ran into Thalia – literally. I was barreling up the ramp to the top-floor balcony and slammed into her, knocking her into an Apollo space capsule.**

"Your just lucky I didn't zap you" Thalia said.

**Grover yelped in surprise. **

**Before I could regain my balance, Zoe and Bianca had arrows notched, aimed at my chest. Their bows had just appeared out of nowhere.**

"A specialty of the Hunters," Thalia said. "Our bow and arrows appear at our will."

**When Zoe realized who I was, she didn't seem anxious to lower her bow. "You! How dare you show thy face here?"**

"**Luke," I said, trying to catch my breath. "He's here."**

**The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?"**

**I told them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.**

"**The General is here?" Zoe looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."**

"I wish it was" Percy said.

"**Why would I lie? Look there's no time. Skeleton warriors –"**

"**What?" Thalia demanded. "How many?"**

"**Twelve," I said. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate', to distract you over here. A monster."**

**Thalia and Grover exchanged looks.**

"Oh great, now he has another chance to get killed and give me a heart attack" Nico mumbled

Percy who heard him, gave him a weak smile and whispered, "Sorry."

"**We were following Artemis's trail," Grover said. "I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent … She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't fond anything yet."**

"**Zoe," Bianca said nervously, "if it is the General –"**

"**It cannot be!" Zoe snapped. "Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion."**

"**Illusions don't crack marble floors," I told her.**

**Zoe took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. I didn't know why she was taking it so personally, or how she knew this General guy, but I figured now wasn't the time to ask.**

"Oh she knew him alright!" Nico said.

"**If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," she said, "We have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible … We must leave now."**

"**Good idea," I said.**

"**I was not including thee, boy," Zoe said. "You are not part of this quest."**

"You would be soon," Nico said. "I shouldn't have asked you anyway, maybe that would've kept you out of danger."

"Nico you realize, I would've gone anyways"

"I know."

"**Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!"**

"**You should have come, Percy," Thalia said grimly. "But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van." **

"**That is not thy decision!" Zoe snapped.**

**Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoe. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"**

Thalia groaned. "I shouldn't have said that to her. She doesn't deserve it one bit."

"**You never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoe growled. "You never could leave them behind!"**

**Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoe. Then everyone froze. I heard a growl so loud I thought one of the rocket engines was starting up.**

**Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. **

"**The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move."**

"Why didn't Lord Zeus just destroy Echidna and her family?" Percy asked.

"He didn't so you heroes could be challenged," Athena replied.

"**Separate on my mark," Zoe said. ""Try to keep it distracted."**

"**Until when?" Grover asked.**

"**Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!"**

"The mouth." Annabeth and Athena mumbled.

**I uncapped Riptide and rolled to the left. Arrows whistled past me, and Grover played a sharp **_**tweet-tweet **_**cadence on his reed pipes. I turned and saw Zoe and Bianca climbing the Apollo capsule. They were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against the lion's metallic fur. **

"I wish I could shoot arrows like that," Percy said.

Everyone laughed, knowing how bad he was with a bow and arrow.

**The lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on its side, spilling the Hunters off the back. Grover played a frantic, horrible tune, and the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. "ROOOAAAR!" **

"It didn't sound that bad did it?" Grover asked.

"Could be compared to Lord Apollo's haikus," Percy said.

"Oh," Grover said glumly, while everyone else laughed. Though Apollo huffed at that.

**The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were blazing fire.**

**For a second, I thought Thalia had it under control. Then I saw the lion crouching, its leg muscles tensing. I knew the lion was going to pounce.**

"**Hey!" I yelled. I don't know what I was thinking, but I charged the beast. I just wanted to get it away from my friends. I slashed with Riptide, a good strike to the flank that should've cut the monster into Meow Mix, but the blade just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.**

"Meow mix," Thalia said. "Couldn't you have come up with a better name Percy?"

**The lion raked me with its claws, ripping off a chunk of my coat. I backed against the railing. It sprang at me, one thousand pounds of monster, and I had no choice but to turn and jump.**

**The lion swiped at me, and I dropped onto the next exhibit, a weird looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter. I looked up and saw the lion roar – inside its maw, a pink tongue and throat.**

**It's mouth I thought. Its fur was completely invulnerable, but if I could strike it in the mouth …**

"Can you believe it?" Thalia said. "Out of everyone there, it was Percy Jackson, kelp for brains who thought of that."

"Thanks Thalia," Percy said, glaring at her.

"Percy can be smart sometimes, you just have pay attention" Nico said.

Percy smiled at Nico, before putting his head on Nico's shoulder. But then started to chuckle when Hermes commented.

"I'll believe that when pigs fly." Hermes said, joking.

Which caused all the demigods to burst out laughing, remembering the second titan war.

"Plus, Percy actually is more street smart, than book smart." Nico said.

"That's true" the demigods said simultaneously.

"**Zoe!" I shouted. "Target the mouth!"**

**Zoe and Bianca were above us, bows ready, but they kept having to move around to get a good angle.**

"**No clear shot!" Zoe yelled. "Get it to open its mouth more!"**

**I looked around. **_**Options.**_** I needed …**

**The gift shop. I had a vague memory from my trip here as a little kid. Something I'd made my mom buy me, and I'd regretted it. If they still sold that stuff …**

"**Thalia," I said, "keep it occupied."**

**She nodded grimly.**

**She pointed her spear and a spidery arc of blue electricity shot out, zapping the lion in the tail.**

"That was a nice shot Thalia," Percy said.

"Thanks."

"**ROOOOOOOAR!" The lion turned and pounced. Thalia rolled out of its way, holding up Aegis to keep the monster at bay, and I ran to the gift shop.**

"**This is no time for souvenirs, boy!" Zoe yelled.**

**I dashed into the shop, knocking over rows of T-shirts, jumping over tables full of glow-in-the-dark planets and space ooze. **

**There! On the far wall – glittery silver packets. Whole racks of them. I scooped up every kind I could find and ran out of the shop with an armful.**

**Zoe and Bianca were still showering arrows on the monster, but it was no good. The lion seemed to know better than to open its mouth too much.**

"Of course," Annabeth said. "Every time it was killed that way, you would think that he learned his lesson after the first couple times."

**Thalia jabbed at the monster and backed up. The lion pressed her.**

"**Percy," she called, "whatever you're going to do –" The lion roared and swatted her like a cat toy, sending her flying into the side of a Titan rocket. Her head hit the metal and she slid to the floor.**

"**Hey!" I yelled at the lion. I was too far away to strike, so I took a risk: I hurled Riptide like a throwing knife. It bounced off the lion's side, but that was enough to get the monsters' attention. It turned toward me and snarled.**

**There was only one way to get close enough. I charged, and as the lion leaped to intercept me, I chunked a space food pouch into its maw – a chunk of cellophane-wrapped freeze-dried strawberry parfait.**

"That one tasted disgusting," Percy said.

**The lion's eyes got wide and it gagged like a cat with a hairball.**

"**Zoe, get ready!" I yelled.**

**I scrambled away from the lion. It managed to choke down the space food packet and looked at me with pure hate.**

"**Snack time!" I yelled. **

**It made the mistake of roaring at me, and I got an ice-cream sandwich in its throat. Before the lion could stop gagging, I shot in two more flavors of ice cream and a freeze-dried spaghetti dinner. **

**The lion's eyes bugged. It opened its mouth wide and reared up on its back paws, trying to get away from me. **

"**Now!" I yelled.**

**Immediately, arrows pierced the lion's maw – two, four, six. The lion thrashed wildly, turned, and fell backward. And then it was still.**

**Grover knelt at Thalia's side and helped her up. She seemed okay, just a little dazed. Zoe and Bianca dropped from the balcony and landed next to me. **

**Zoe eyed me cautiously. "That was … an interesting strategy."**

"I agree," Thalia said.

"Pretty good for a son of Poseidon," Athena said.

"**Hey, it worked."**

**She didn't argue.**

**The lion seemed to be melting, the way dead monsters do sometimes, until there was nothing left but its glittering fur coat, and even that seemed to be shrinking to the size of a normal lion's pelt.**

"**Take it," Zoe told me.**

**I stared at her. "What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?"**

Artemis looked at Percy, amused.

"**It is a spoil of war," she told me. "It is rightly thine."**

"**You killed it," I said.**

**She shook her head, almost smiling. "I think thy ice cream sandwich did that. Fair is fair, Percy Jackson. Take the fur."**

**I lifted it up; it was surprisingly light. The fur was smooth and soft. It didn't feel at all like something that could stop a blade. As I watched, the pelt shifted and changed into a coat – a full-length golden-brown duster.**

"**Not exactly my style," I murmured.**

"Probably not," Nico said.

"**We have to get out of here," Grover said. "The security guards won't stay confused for long."**

**I noticed for the first time how strange it was that the guards hadn't rushed forward to arrest us. They were scrambling in all directions except ours, like they were madly searching for something. A few were running into the walls or each other.**

"**You did that?" I asked Grover.**

**He nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "A minor confusion song. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds."**

"**The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoe said. "Look."**

**Through the glass walls of the museum, I could see a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for us to see their eyes, but I could feel their gaze aimed straight at me."**

"And I thought some other monsters were scary," Percy said. "Those skeleton warriors almost killed all of us!"

"I guess you could thank me for getting rid of the last of them." Nico said, with a small smile on his face.

"The first of the many times we save each other's life." Percy said, before kissing him.

"**Go," I said. "They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."**

"**No," Zoe said. "We go together."**

**I stared at her. "But, you said –"**

"**You are part of this quest now," Zoe said grudgingly. "I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the fifth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."**

"That's it," Demeter said. "The end of chapter 10."

"What's the next chapter titled?" Nico asked.

"Grover gets a Lamborghini," Demeter replied.

"Then I think Grover should read," Thalia said.

"Now since we're done with this chapter, lets eat." Hestia said.

And just like that Nico and Percy raced towards the kitchen, while everyone else just simply followed.


	12. Chapter 12

When everyone finally arrived in the kitchen, they found the kitchen a mess and Percy was still searching for the blue food coloring for the pasta him and Nico were going to share. Everyone just stood and watched, just waiting till they would finish before they would get themselves something to eat, with Hermes, Apollo, and the Stolls complaining that they were hungry. Nico was just watching Percy make a bigger mess, while snickering at him. Nico walked toward him, whispered in his ear. "I'll look for the food coloring, while you clean up the mess you made." Percy nodded, with a blush on his face, knowing Nico could find it, without making a mess.

After fifteen minutes, Percy had cleaned up the kitchen to its original state and Nico had found the food coloring, while waiting for Percy to finish. Shortly after everyone started preparing their own lunch though it looked more like a dinner, there was pizza, hamburgers, chicken, steak, chili, tacos,etc. After everyone got their food and sat down to eat, they began to watch Nico and Percy share their food. It was blue of course, but they turned back to eat their own food and started to chat with everyone. Every once in a while you'd see Nico and Percy get the same noodle and kiss, they'd blush soon after when they saw everyone staring at them. After they were finished they went back into the throne room to talk quietly and wait for everyone else.

When Percy sat in his normal seat, before pulling Nico into his lap. Nico asked him, "please tell me you won't be in any near death experiences on this quest."

"Nico, you know how hard it is while on a quest."

"I know, but I feel a lot better knowing that you're safe and not about to die."

"I know, but you really don't need to worry as much. I'm perfectly fine. Though I'm pretty sure if you were in a near death situation like I'm usually in, I'd be worrying about you too"

Nico smiled up at him and kissed him, which quickly turned into a make-out session. Then someone behind them cleared their throat, which caused them to break apart and start blushing like crazy. And Persephone spoke saying, "Now that we're all here, why don't we continue reading." Grover nodded and grabbed the book.

* * *

**"Grover Gets A Lamborghini," **Grover read.

"It was an awesome car," Percy said.

Grover nodded.

**We were crossing the Potomac when we spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, military model just like the one we'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight towards us.**

"**They know the van," I said. "We have to ditch it."**

"Wow Percy, for once you actually thought of something right!" Annabeth said.

Percy just did the mature thing to do and stuck his tongue at her.

**Zoe swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining. **

**The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than we were through D.C. traffic.**

**Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?**

**But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sight of a helpful thunderstorm.**

"He isn't allowed to break the ancient laws," Hestia said. While Zeus didn't say anything.

"**There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"**

"**We'll be trapped." Zoe said.**

"**Trust me," Bianca said.**

**Zoe shot across two lanes of traffic and into a small parking lot on the south bank of the river. We left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.**

"**Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."**

"Oh that reminds me, did you know that Alexander the Great was a son of Athena?" Annabeth asked.

"Now we do," Nico and Percy said.

Grover continued to read before Annabeth could give a history lesson.

**We bought tickets and got through turnstiles, looking behind us for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later we were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As our train came above ground, we could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after us.**

**Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."**

**The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.**

"**We need to change trains," I said. "Next station."**

**Over the next half hour, all we thought about was getting away safely. We changed trains twice. I had no idea where we were going, but after a while we lost the helicopter.**

**Unfortunately, when we finally got off the train we found ourselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. **

**A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. We must've looked pretty pathetic because he gave us a toothless grin ad said. "Y'all need to get warmed up? Come on over!"**

Artemis glared at her brother, knowing who the homeless guy was.

**"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You kids need a train going west?"**

"**Yes sir," I said. You know of any?"**

**He pointed one greasy hand. **

**Suddenly I noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.**

"Apollo," everyone said.

"**That's … convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh …"**

**She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. **

"Still think he's hot as a homeless guy?" Nico asked Thalia.

"Nico, I don't think that's a very good idea." Percy whispered to Nico. All he got in return was him rolling his eyes.

She glared at him, blue sparks flying of her body. Nobody stopped her and lightning struck Nico. His face was a black mess and his shirt was reduced to ashes.

"Gosh Thalia," Nico said. "That was my favorite shirt! It's vintage you know!"

Everybody snickered at Nico, while Percy whispered, "I tried to warn you."

Nico whispered back, "I know, I know, I probably deserved that, don't I."

"No, but you really need not to irritate Thalia, I prefer to know that your not hurt"

**An hour later we were rumbling west. There was no problem who would drive now, because we all got our own luxury car. Zoe and Bianca were crashed out inn a Lexus on the top deck. Grover was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rock stations from D.C.**

"Thalia, I never knew you could hot-wire cars." Nico said.

"Well with years on the run, I got some skills here and there." Thalia said.

"**Join you?" I asked her.**

**She shrugged, so I climbed into the shotgun seat.**

"**Nice coat," Thalia told me.**

**I pulled the brown duster around me, thankful for the warmth. "Yeah, but the Nemean Lion wasn't the monster we're looking for."**

"**Not even close. We've got a long way to go."**

"**Whatever this mystery monster is, the General said it would come for you. They wanted to isolate you from the group, so the monster will appear and battle you one-on-one."**

"I wouldn't say battle," Thalia said.

"Your fatal flaw," Annabeth said. "Power," she muttered under her breath.

Thalia nodded grimly.

Making all the gods wonder what her fatal flaw was.

"**He said that?"**

"**Well, something like that. Yeah." **

"**That's great. I love being used as bait."**

"**No idea what the monster might be?"**

**She shook her head morosely. "But you know where we're going, don't you? San Francisco. That's where Artemis was heading." **

"**Why?" I asked. "What's so bad about San Francisco?"**

Nico rolled his eyes at him, teasingly.

"**The Mist is really thick there because the Mountain of Despair is so near. Titan magic-what's left of it-still lingers, Monsters are attracted to that area like you wouldn't believe.''**

"**What's the Mountain of Despair?"**

**Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You really don't know? Ask stupid Zoe. She's the expert."**

**She glared out the windshield. I wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but I also didn't want to sound like an idiot. I hated feeling like Thalia knew more than I did, so I kept my mouth shut.**

"Too bad Percy," Thalia said.

**The afternoon sun shone through the steel-mesh side of the freight car, casting a shadow across Thalia's face. I thought about how different she was from Zoe-Zoe all formal and aloof like a princess, Thalia with her ratty clothes and her rebel attitude.**

"My clothes aren't ratty!" Thalia yelled.

**But there was something similar about them, too. The same kind of toughness. Right now, sitting in the shadows with a gloomy expression. Thalia looked a lot like one of the Hunters.**

**Then suddenly, it hit me: "That's why you don't get along with Zoe."**

**Thalia frowned. "What?"**

"**The Hunters tried to recruit you," I guessed.**

**Her eyes got dangerously bright. I thought she was going to zap me out of the Mercedes, but she just sighed."**

"You know, I was thinking about that." Thalia said.

"**I almost joined them," she admitted. "Luke, Annabeth, and I ran into them once, and Zoe tried to convince me. She almost did, but …"**

"**But?"**

**Thalia's fingers gripped the wheel. "I would've had to leave Luke."**

"**Oh."**

"**Zoe and I got into a fight. She told me I was being stupid. She said I'd regret my choice. She said that Luke would let me down someday."**

Annabeth gave a sad smile, and hugged Thalia tightly.

"**That's harsh," I said. "Hard to admit Zoe was right."**

"**She wasn't right! Luke never let me down. Never."**

Thalia sighed.

"**We'll have to fight him," I said. "There's no way around it."**

**Thalia didn't answer. **

"**You haven't seen him lately." I warned. "I know it's hard to believe, but-"**

"**I'll do what I have to do."**

"**Even if it means killing him?"**

"**Do me a favor," she said. "Get out of my car."**

**I felt so bad for her I didn't argue.**

**As I was about to leave, she said, "Percy."**

**When I looked back, her eyes were red, but I couldn't tell if it was from anger or sadness. "Annabeth wanted to join the Hunters, too. Maybe you should think about why."**

**Before I could respond, she raised the power windows and shut me out.**

**As I watched the sun go down, I thought of Annabeth. I was afraid to go to sleep. I was worried that I might dream.**

"**Oh, don't be afraid of dreams," a voice said right next to me.**

**I looked over. Somehow, I wasn't surprised to find the homeless guy from the rail yard sitting in the shotgun seat. **

"**If it weren't for dreams," he said, "I wouldn't know half the things I know about the future. They're better than Olympus tabloids." He cleared his throat, then held up his hands dramatically:**

Artemis cleared her throat. "Can we please skip this part? I've been listening to my brother's horrible haikus for the past century."

Everyone nodded.

"**Apollo?" I guessed, because I figured nobody else could make a haiku that bad.**

Everyone just snickered at Apollo's expression, while the demigods who have heard his poetry, remembered how bad it was and groaned."

**He put his finger to his lips. "I'm incognito. Call me Fred."**

"**A god named Fred?"**

"**Eh, well … Zeus insists on certain rules. Hands off, when there's a human quest. Even when something really major is wrong. But nobody messes with my baby sister. Nobody."**

"Apollo" Artemis said threatening.

"What sis?" Apollo asked innocently. And they both were in the center of the room, though away from the demigods so they wouldn't get hurt.

Artemis' silver bow appeared in her hand, but this time there was no warning. She let loose an arrow, which hit its target perfectly; the center of Apollo's forehead. Then Artemis landed a Sparta kick right on the square of Apollo's chest.

Apollo groaned. "My ribs! All broken."

"That's right," Artemis said. "Even if you're the god of healing, it'll take a year to heal up. Hopefully you'll remember never to call me your lil' sis or your baby sister."

Apollo zapped himself away to his room. Everyone stared at Artemis.

"What?" she said.

Everyone looked away, afraid that they were going to get a beating from her.

"**Can you help us, then?"**

"**Shhh. I already have. Haven't you been looking outside?"**

"**The train. How fast are we moving?"**

**Apollo chuckled. "Fast enough. Unfortunately, we're running out of time. It's almost unset. But I imagine we'll get you across a good chunk of America, at least."**

"**But where is Artemis?"**

**His face darkened. "I know a lot, and I see a lot. But even I don't know that. She's clouded from me. I don't like it."**

"I absolutely hate that," Artemis said.

"**What about the monster Artemis was seeking?" I asked. "Do you know what it is?"**

"**No," Apollo said. "But there is one who might. If you haven't yet found the monster when you reach San Francisco, seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. He has a long memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes obscure from my Oracle."**

"He was a hard one to catch," Percy said.

**Apollo checked his watch. "Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again, Percy, but remember what I said! Get some sleep! And when you return, I expect a good haiku about your journey!"**

"Have you done it yet?" Nico asked.

"No, and I'm not planning on doing it." Percy replied.

**I wanted to protest that I wasn't tired and I'd never make up a haiku in my life, but Apollo snapped his finger, and the next thing I knew I was closing my eyes.**

**In my dream, I was somebody else. I was wearing an old fashioned Greek tunic, which was a little too breezy downstairs, and laced leather sandals. The Nemean Lion's skin was wrapped around my back like a cape, and I was running somewhere, being pulled along by a girl who was tightly gripping my hand.**

"Nice description," Nico said snickering. While Percy just turned bright red.

Artemis' eyes widened in shock, but she remained silent for the moment.

"**Hurry!" she said. It was too dark to see her face clearly, but I could hear the fear in her voice. "He will find us!"**

**It was nighttime. A million stars blazed above. We were running through tall grass, and scent of a thousand different flowers made the air intoxicating. It was a beautiful garden, and et the girl was leading me through it, as if we were about to die.**

"**I'm not afraid," I tried to tell her.**

"**You should be!" she said, pulling me along. She had long dark hair braided down her back. Her silk robes glowed faintly in the starlight.**

**We raced up the side of the hill. She pulled me behind a thorn bush and we collapsed, both breathing heavily. I didn't know why the girl was scared. The garden seemed so peaceful. And I felt strong. Stronger than I'd ever felt before. **

"**There is no need to run," I told her. My voice sounded deeper, much more confident.**

"**I have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands."**

"**Not this one," the girl said. "Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain to my father. It is the only way."**

**The hurt in her voice surprised me. She was really concerned, almost like she cared about me.**

"**I don't trust your father," I said.**

"**You should not," the girl agreed. "You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the prize directly. You will die!"**

**I chuckled. "Then why don't you help me, pretty one?"**

"**I … I am afraid. Ladon will stop me. My sisters, if they found out … they would disown me."**

"And you Hercules, caused all of this." Artemis said venomously. "Broke a maiden's heart. Completely shattered it."

"**Then there's nothing for it." I stood up, rubbing my hands together.**

"**Wait!" the girl said.**

**She seemed to be agonizing over a decision. Then, her fingers trembling, she reached up and plucked a long white brooch from her hair. "If you must fight, take this. My mother, Pleione, gave t to me. She was a daughter of the ocean, and the ocean's power is within it. My immortal power"**

**The girl breathed on the pin and it glowed faintly. It gleamed in the starlight like polished abalone.**

"**Take it," she told me. "And make of it a weapon."**

**I laughed. "A hairpin? How will this slay Ladon, pretty one"**

"**It may not," she admitted. "But it is all I can offer, if you insist on being stubborn."**

**The girl's voice softened my heart. I reached down and took the hairpin, and as I did, it grew longer and heavier in my hand, until I held a familiar bronze sword.**

"**What shall I name this blade?"**

"**Anaklusmos," the girl said sadly. "The current that takes on by surprise And before you know it, out have been swept out to sea."**

**Before I could thank her, there was a trampling sound in the grass, a hiss like air escaping a tire, and the girl said, "Too late! He is here!"**

"Hercules," Annabeth muttered.

**I sat bolt upright in the Lamborghini's driver's seat." Grover was shaking my arm. "Percy," he said. "It's morning. The train's stopped. Come on!"**

**I fished my pen out of my pocket and stared at it. **_**Anaklusmos**_**, the Ancient Greek name for Riptide. A different form but I was sure it was the same blade I'd seen in my dream.**

**And I was sure of something else, too. The girl I had seen was Zoe Nightshade.**

"Indeed," Artemis said.

"Can I continue reading?" Grover asked. "I think the next chapter is where the pig comes in."

"Sure." Everyone nodded their heads.


	13. Chapter 13

**"I Go Snowboarding With A Pig,"** Grover read

Nico laughed. "Wow Percy, I just love the titles you come up with." Everyone else was just shaking their heads at them.

**We'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. **

**Even with my lion-skin coat, I was freezing by the time we got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. **

**We stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store. **

"**Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."**

"**There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.**

"Grover, you and coffee." Annabeth said.

"**Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good."**

"**And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."**

"But they still don't beat enchiladas," Grover said.

**Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."**

"**You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."**

"**Wonderful," Thalia grumped. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."**

"**But the clerk said-"**

"**I know," she told me. "I'm checking anyway."**

**I let her go.**

"Personal space," Thalia said. "Needed some alone time."

**Bianca and I stood together awkwardly. I mean … I was never very comfortable talking one-on-one with girls anyways, and I'd never been alone with Bianca before. I wasn't sure what to say, especially now that she was a Hunter and everything.**

"You can just talk to us like we're normal people," Thalia said. "Just don't try to flirt with us or anything like that."

"**So how do you like being a Hunter so far?" I asked.**

**She pursed her lips. "You're not still mad at me for joining, are you?"**

"**Nah. Long as, you know … you're happy."**

"**I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Lady Artemis gone. But being a Hunter is definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I guess that's the immortality."**

**I stared at her, trying to see the difference. She did seem more confident than before, roe at peace. She didn't hide her face under a green cap anymore. She kept her hair tied back, and she looked me right in the eyes when she spoke. **

"**Nico didn't understand my decision," Bianca murmured.**

"I do now," Nico said sadly.

Percy looked at him and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him in lap and gave him a brief kiss, hoping to lift his spirits some.

Nico gave him a small smile and layed his head on his shoulder.

"**He'll be all right," I said. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that for Annabeth."**

**Bianca nodded. "I hope we find her. Annabeth, I mean. She's lucky to have a friend like you."**

"**Lot of good it did her."**

"**Don't blame yourself, Percy. You risked your life to save my brother and me. I mean, that was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You're a good guy."**

**The compliment took me by surprise. "Even though I knocked you out during capture the flag?"**

**She laughed. "Okay. Except for that, you're a good guy." **

"Yes you are," Nico said.

**A couple hundred yards away, Grover and Zoe came out of the coffee shop loaded down with pastry bags and drinks. I kind of didn't want them to come back yet. It was weird, but I realized I liked talking to Bianca. She wasn't so bad. A lot easier to hang out with than Zoe Nightshade, anyway.**

"Of course," Artemis said. "Zoe is a lot different from Bianca."

"**So what's the story with you and Nico?" I asked her.**

"**Where did you go to school before Westover?"**

**She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. I t seems like so long ago."**

**"You never lived with your parents? I mean, your mortal parent?"**

"**We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school."**

"Mom's dead, because of Lord Zeus." Nico muttered to himself.

"**Why?"**

**She knit her eyebrows. "We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We traveled a long way. And we stayed in this hotel for a few weeks. And then … I don't know. One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east, through D.C. Then up into Maine. And we started going to Westover."**

"**So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life?" I asked. "Just the two of you?"**

**She nodded. "That's why I wanted to join the Hunters so bad. I mean, I know it's selfish but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico-don't get me wrong-I just needed to find out what it would be like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day."**

"I'm sorry Bianca, for being such a wreck." Nico said.

Everyone looked at Nico and smiled sadly, while Percy tightened his grip on his waist.

"Nico, you weren't a wreck." Percy scolded.

"**We should do the tracking spell," Zoe said. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"**

"**Umm," Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think so. I just need to-"**

**He froze.**

**I was about to ask what was wrong, whe a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else-almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.**

Hermes perked up at the mention of his son, Pan.

**Zoe gasped. "Grover, thy cup."**

**Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away-a flock of tiny doves. **

**Grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. We gathered around him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.**

**We made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were new wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniform, but still had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes.**

**They drew their handguns. I'll admit I used to think it would be kind of cool to learn how to shoot a gun, but I changed my mind as soon as the skeleton warriors pointed theirs at me.**

"Boys," Artemis and Thalia said at the same time shaking their heads.

**Thalia tapped her bracelet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right into me.**

**I drew Riptide, though I wasn't sure what good it would do against guns. **

"No it wouldn't," Nico said.

**Zoe and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Grover kept swooning and leaning against her. **

"**It's near," Grover moaned.**

"**It's here," I said.**

"**No," he insisted. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."**

**I didn't know what he was talking about, but I was worried about his condition. He was in no shape to walk, much less fight.**

"**The Wild!" Grover moaned.**

**A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but I kept my eyes on the skeletons. I remembered the General gloating over Annabeth's fate. I remembered the way Luke betrayed her.**

**And I charged.**

**The first skeleton fired Time slowed down. I won't say I could see the bullet, but I could feel its path, the same way I felt water currents in the ocean. I deflected it off the edge of my blade and kept charging.**

"Wow, that's cool," Rachel said. "You can feel ocean currents and bullets?"

**The skeleton drew a baton and I sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then I swung Riptide through his waist and cut him in half.**

**His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. Almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth and me and tried to fire, but I knocked his gun into the snow. **

**I thought I was doing pretty well, until the other two skeletons shot me in the back.**

**I landed facedown in the street. Then I realized something ... I wasn't dead. The impact of the bullets had been dull, like a push from behind, but they hadn't hurt me.**

**The Nemean Lion's fur! The coat was bulletproof.**

"Thank the gods!" Nico said.

"Your welcome" Apollo said. Though Artemis was shaking her head at him.

**There was no way to stop them. Zoe and Bianca fired at their heads point-blank, but the arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. Once lunged at Bianca, and I thought she was a goner, but she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.**

"Child of Hades," Nico explained. "Although I'm surprised she could kill one at that stage, I mean she hasn't even been claimed yet."

"**How did you do that?" Zoe asked.**

"**I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Luck stab?"**

"**Well, do it again!"**

**Bianca tried, but the remaining three skeletons were wry of her now. They pressed us back, keeping us at baton's length.**

"**Plan?" I said as we retreated.**

**Nobody answered. The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were cracking.**

"**A gift," Grover muttered.**

**And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig I'd ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, thirty feet high with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.**

"**REEEEEEEEEET"" it squealed, and raked the three skeletons aside with its tusks. The force was so great, they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere. **

"I'm surprised we didn't go deaf," Thalia said.

**Then the pig turned on us.**

**Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it!"**

"**That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoe sad, trying to stay calm "I don't think we can kill it."**

"**It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!"**

**The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe and Bianca dived out of the way. I had to push Grover so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Escape.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Lovely**."**

"**Yeah, I feel blessed!" I said. "Scatter!"**

**We ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.**

"**It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.**

"**Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"**

"**So how is that a blessing" Bianca asked.**

**It seemed a fair question, but the pig was offended and charged her. She was faster than I'd realized. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOMETO CLOUDCROFT sign. **

"I'm surprised you could read it," Thalia said.

"Thanks a bunch Thalia," Percy said. "Grover, I thought you could like talk to all animals. Why didn't you tell it to stop?"

"I tried, but like I said. It's wild!"

"**Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. Grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him. But Thalia and I won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on us, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. Maybe it looked too much like one of its relatives. The boar charged us.**

**We only managed to keep ahead of it because we ran uphill, and we could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plow through them.**

**On the other side of the hill, I found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the snow.**

"**This way!" I grabbed Thalia's arm and we ran along the rails while the boar roared behind us, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves just were not made for this, thank the gods.**

**Ahead of us, I saw a covered tunnel. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. I had a crazy idea.**

"**Follow me!"**

"Ugh! Percy, it was more than crazy!" Thalia yelled.

**Thalia slowed down-I didn't have time to ask why-but I pulled her along and she reluctantly followed. Behind us, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulder under its hooves as it chased us.**

**Thalia and I ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.**

"**No!" Thalia screamed.**

**She'd turned as white as ice. We were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below.**

**The boar was right behind us.**

"You didn't …" Annabeth said.

"**Come on!" I said. "It'll hold our weight, probably."**

"**I can't! Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear.**

**The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.**

"**Now!" I yelled at Thalia.**

**She looked down and swallowed. I swear she was turning green.**

"I was!" Thalia said in outrage.

**I didn't have time to process why. The boar was charging through the tunnel, straight toward us. Plan B. I tackled Thalia and sent us both sideways off the edge of the bridge into the side of the mountain. We slid on Aegis like a snowboard, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. **

"I'm surprised you could think of a plan," Annabeth said.

**The boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOOOF!**

**Thalia and I skidded to a stop. We were both breathing hard. I was cut up and bleeding. Thalia had pine needles in her hair. Next to us, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. All I could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like Styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere either.**

"Skip this part please!" Percy said. "Otherwise, Thalia will shoot me with lightning, and Lady Artemis and Lord Zeus isn't going to stop her."

"Just read it," Thalia said. "Training with Lady Artemis has helped a lot anyways."

**I looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."**

**Now that we were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look. "Don't be stupid."**

"**That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it."**

**She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If you tell anyone, I swear-"**

"**No, no, "I said. "That's cool. It's just … the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights?"**

Everyone remained silent, afraid of being blasted by Thalia. Though some of the gods were snickering.

**She was about to knock me into the snow when, above us, Grover's voice called, "Helloooooo?"**

"**Down here!" I shouted. **

**A few minutes later, Zoe, Bianca, and Grover joined us. We stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.**

"**A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.**

"**I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it."**

"**Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."**

"Thanks a lot for the description," Thalia said. "If I had a fight with a Christmas tree, I wouldn't lose."

**Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"**

**He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.**

"**Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."**

**She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of us.**

**Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar.**

"**Wait a second," I said. "Do you two know what Grover is talking about- this wild blessing?"**

"**Of course," Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong … I never thought I would sense that presence again."**

"**What presence?"**

Everyone face palmed.

**She stared at me like I was an idiot.**

Thalia laughed. "She probably did think so."

"**The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."**

"That's the end of the chapter," Grover said. "Who wants to read?"

"I'll read," Nico said.

Thalia, Percy, and Grover looked at each other.

"I don't think you should read this chapter Nico," Percy said softly.

"I think I can handle it!" Nico said.


	14. Chapter 14

Nico looked at the name of the chapter and bit back a sob and read,

**"We Visit the Junkyard Of The Gods,"**

"Alright, let's get on with this." Nico said. And took a deep breath.

**We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as my back end could take. **

**I have no idea how many miles we covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were galloping (do boars gallop?) across the desert.**

Everyone laughed.

"This one can," Thalia said.

**As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.**

"**This is as far as he'll go," Grover said. "We need to get off while he's eating."**

**Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then we waddled away as best we could with our saddle sores.**

"I remember that," Grover said as he winced.

"I think we do too," Percy said.

**After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east.**

"**It likes the mountains better," I guessed.**

"**I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."**

**Ahead of us was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoe Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. **

"Great way to describe the taco shop Percy," Annabeth mumbled.

"**Whoa," I said.**

"**Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at Grover. "I don't suppose you go another wild boar up your sleeve?"**

**Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but Grover looked concerned.**

"**That's us," he said. "Those five nuts right there."**

"**Which one is me?" I asked.**

"**The little deformed one," Zoe suggested.**

"I agree with Zoe," Thalia said earning a glare from Percy.

"Whatever," Percy muttered.

"Aw look! I hurt Percy's feelings."

"**Oh, shut up."**

"You told Zoe to shut up?" Artemis asked.

Percy hesitated. "Yes?"

"I'm just surprised she didn't shoot you with an arrow, that's all." Artemis replied.

"Oh." Percy said.

"**That cluster right there," Grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."**

"**A monster?" Thalia asked.**

**Grover looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge …"**

**He pointed straight toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet.**

**We decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of us wanted to go Dumpster-driving in the dark.**

**Zoe and Bianca produced five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks. I don't know how they did it, because the packs were tiny, but must've been enchanted to hold so much stuff.**

Thalia nodded. "It's awesome. I can put all of my stuff in, including my band shirts."

**I'd noticed their bows and quivers were also magic. I never really thought about it, but when the Hunters needed them they just appeared slung over their backs. And when they didn't, they were gone.**

**The night got chilly fast, so Grover and I collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon we were about as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.**

"**The stars are out," Zoe said.**

**She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.**

"**Amazing," Bianca said. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."**

"**This is nothing," Zoe said. "In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution.**

"**You talk like you're not human," I said.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "She isn't! She's a nymph."

"I know that now," Percy said.

**Zoe raised an eyebrow. "I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?"**

**Grover sighed. He was still looking up at the stars like he was thinking about the light pollution problem. "If only Pan was here, he would set thing right."**

**Zoe nodded sadly.**

"**Maybe it was the coffee," Grover said. "I was drinking coffee, and the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee …"**

"**He sent us help," Grover insisted. "I don't know how or why. But it was his presence. After this quest is done, I'm going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It's the best lead we've gotten in two thousand years. I was so close."**

"**What I want to know," Thalia said, looking at Bianca, "is how you destroyed one of the zombies. There are a lot more out there somewhere. We need to figure out how to fight them."**

**Bianca shook her head. "I don't know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames."**

"**Maybe there's something special about your knife," I said.**

"Not the knife, but her." Annabeth said. "Child of the Big Three."

"**It is the same as mine," Zoe said. "Celestial bronze, yes. But mine did not affect the warriors that way."**

"**Maybe you hit the skeleton in a certain spot," I said.**

**Bianca looked uncomfortable with everybody paying attention to her.**

"She doesn't like to be the center of attention," Nico muttered.

"**Never mind," Zoe told her. "We will fin the answer. In the meantime, we should plan our next move. When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitch hike to the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas."**

"I hated that place!" Nico said.

"Same!" Grover and Percy said at the same time.

**I was about to protest that Grover and I had bad experiences in that town but Bianca beat us to it.**

"**No!" she said. "Not there!"**

**She looked really freaked out, like she'd just been dropped off the steep end of a roller coaster. **

**Zoe frowned. "Why?"**

**Bianca took a shaky breath. "I … I think we stayed there for a while. Nico and I. When we were traveling. And then, I can't remember …"**

**Suddenly I had a really bad thought. I remembered what Bianca had told me about Nico and her staying in a hotel for a while. I met Grover's eyes, and I got the feeling he was thinking the same thing.**

"Oh I was," Grover said.

"Thought so," Percy replied.**"**

"**Bianca," I said. "That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"**

**Her eyes widened. "How could you know that?"**

"**Oh, great," I said.**

"**Wait," Thalia said. "What is the Lotus Casino?"**

"**A couple of years ago," I said, "Grover, Annabeth, and I got trapped there. It's designed so you never want to leave. We stayed for about an hour. When we came out, five days had passed. It makes time speed up."**

"**No," Bianca said. "No, that's not possible."**

"**You said somebody came and got you out," I remembered.**

"**Yes."**

"**What did he look like? What did he say?"**

"**I … I don't remember. Please, I really don't want to talk about this."**

"It wasn't dad," Nico said frowning. "It was Alecto."

"**Bianca," Zoe said, "Can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right now?"**

"**Don't be silly," Bianca said. She told us the correct name of the president.**

"**And who was the president before that?" Zoe asked.**

**Bianca thought for a while. "Roosevelt."**

**Zoe swallowed. "Theodore or Franklin?"**

"**Franklin," Bianca said. "F.D.R."**

"**Bianca," Zoe said. "F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years ago."**

"**That's impossible," Bianca said. "I … I'm not that old."**

**She stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.**

**Thalia's eyes turned sad. I guess she knew what it was like to get pulled out of time for a while. "It's okay, Bianca. The important thing is you and Nico are safe. You made it out."**

"Yeah, being a tree was not fun at all." Thalia said.

**The headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere. I was hoping it was Apollo, come to give us a chariot ride again, but the engine was way too silent for the sun chariot, and besides, it was nighttime. We grabbed our sleeping bags and got out of the way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop in front of us.**

"Oh he can still drive the car during nighttime," Artemis said. "He just can't turn the headlights on."

**The back door of the limo opened right next to me. Before I could step away, the point of a sword touched my throat.**

"Ares" Percy muttered venomously.

**I heard the sound of Zoe and Bianca drawing their bows. As the owner of the sword got out of the car, I moved back very slowly. I had to, because he was pushing the point under my chin.**

**He smiled cruelly. "Not so fast now, are you punk?" **

**He was a big man with a crew cut a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a white muscle shirt, and combat boots. Wraparound shades hid his eyes, but I knew what was behind those glasses-hollow sockets filled with flames.**

"**Ares," I growled.**

**The war god glanced at my friends. "At ease, people." **

**He snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground.**

"Can you do that as well Lady Artemis?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes I can," Artemis said. "Would you like a demonstration?"

"No thanks," everyone else mumbled.

"**This is a friendly meeting." He dug the point of his blade a little farther under my chin. "Of course I'd like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."**

"**What lady?" Thalia asked.**

"**Oh I don't she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." He jutted his chin toward Zoe and Bianca.**

"Of course," Thalia said. "Aphrodite does not like us very much."

"You think?" Nico muttered.

"**Get inside, punk," he said. "And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."**

"I think Lady Artemis is the most unforgiving when it comes to rudeness," Thalia said.

Artemis just shrugged and gestured for Nico to continue reading.

**When I saw her, my jaw dropped.**

**I forgot my name. I forgot where I was. I forgot how to speak in complete sentences.**

**She was wearing a red satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was the most beautiful I'd ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that would've lit up the dark side of the moon.**

**Thinking back on it, I can't tell you who she looked like. Or even what color her hair or her eyes were. Pick the most beautiful actress you can think of. The goddess was ten times more beautiful than that. Pick your favorite hair, eye color, whatever. The goddess had that. **

"Aphrodite looks like whatever you think is beautiful or whoever you love or like," Annabeth said.

"Then that'd would be you" Percy whispered to Nico. Successfully making him blush and getting his mind off the chapter a little bit.

**When she smiled at me, just for a moment she looked a little like Annabeth. Then like this television actress I used to have a crush on in fifth grade. Then … well, you get the idea.**

"**Ah, there you are, Percy," the goddess said. "I am Aphrodite."**

**I slipped into the seat across from her and said something like, "Um uh gah."**

**She smiled. "Aren't you sweet. Hold this, please."**

**She handed me a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had me hold it up for her. She leaned forward and dabbed at her lipstick, though I couldn't see anything wrong with it.**

No one else dared to say anything, knowing that they'd get hit in the head by one of her stilettos.

"**Do you know why you're here?" she asked.**

**I wanted to respond. Why couldn't I form a complete sentence? She was only a lady. A seriously beautiful lady. With eyes like pools of spring water … Whoa. **

**I pinched my own arm, hard.**

"Aphrodite tends to do that," Artemis said. "She charms every male into falling in love with her. Some of her daughters can do that as well."

"**I … I don't know," I managed.**

"**Oh, dear," Aphrodite said. "Still in denial?"**

**Outside the car, I could hear Ares chuckling. I had a feeling he could hear every word we said. The idea of him being out there made me angry, and that helped clear my mind.**

"I'm going to remember that," Nico said.

"Why?" Percy asked.

"So I don't get charmed by the love goddess, or one of her daughters." Nico replied.

"**I don't know what you're talking about," I said. **

"**Well then why are you on this quest?"**

"**Artemis has been captured!"**

**Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Oh, Artemis. Please. Talk about a hopeless case. I mean, if they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should be breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think? I pity the poor dears who have to imprison Artemis. Bo-ring!"**

Artemis growled.

"Lady Artemis, you're breathtakingly beautiful," Grover said dreamily.

For a minute, Artemis's eyes glowed silver. Everyone shrunk away in fear, especially Grover, who whimpered in fear. After a couple seconds, the goddess's eyes returned to their normal silver-yellow color.

"Thank you Grover."

Grover merely nodded, while everyone just laughed.

"**But she was chasing a monster," I protested. "A really, really bad monster. We have to find it!"**

"Percy, you sound like a third grader." Thalia said.

**Aphrodite made me hold the mirror a little higher. She seemed to have found a microscopic problem at the corner of her eye and dabbed at her mascara. "Always some monster. But my dear Percy, that is why the others are on this quest. I'm more interested in you."**

**My heart pounded. I didn't want to answer, but her eyes drew an answer right out of my mouth. "Annabeth is in trouble."**

**Aphrodite beamed. "Exactly!"**

"**I have to help her," I said. "I've been having these dreams."**

"**Ah, you even dream about her! That's so cute!"**

"**No! I mean … that's not what I meant."**

**She made a tsk-tsk sound. "Percy, I'm on your side. I'm the reason you're here after all."**

**I stared at her. "What?"**

"**The poisoned T-shirt the Stoll brothers gave Phoebe," she said. "Did you think that was an accident? Sending Blackjack to find you? Helping you sneak out of the camp?**

"**You did that?"**

"**Of course! Because really, how boring these Hunters are! A quest for some monster, blah blah blah. Save Artemis. Let her stay lost, I say. But a quest for true love-"**

"**Wait a second, I never said-"**

"**Oh, my dear. You don't need to say it. You do know Annabeth was close to joining the Hunters, don't you?"**

**I blushed. "I wasn't sure-"**

"**She was about to throw her life away! And you, my dear, you can save her from that. It's so romantic!"**

"**Now listen, Percy," Aphrodite said. "The Hunters are your enemies. Forget them and Artemis and the monster. That's not important. You just concentrate on finding and saving Annabeth."**

"**Do you know where she is?"**

**Aphrodite waved her hand irritably. "No, no. I leave the details to you. But it's been ages since we've had a good tragic love story."**

"And that was not fun," Percy muttered.

"**Whoa, first of all, I never said anything about love. And second, what's up with tragic?"**

"**Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. "Look at Helen and Paris. Did they let anything come between them?"**

"**Didn't they start the Trojan War and get thousands of people killed?"**

"Wow, I'm surprised kelp for brains here knows what the Trojan War is," Thalia said.

Annabeth laughed. "That's so true."

"Hey!" Percy protested.

"**Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart."**

"**But … I don't know where it's going. My heart, I mean."**

**She smiled sympathetically. She was beautiful. And not just because she had a pretty face or anything. She believed in love so much, it was impossible not to feel giddy when she talked about it.**

"**Not knowing is half the fun," Aphrodite said. "Exquisitely painful, isn't it? Not being sure who you love and who loves you? Oh, you kids! It's so cute I'm going to cry."**

"**No, no," I said. "Don't do that."**

"**And don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I have some wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait."**

"And man was that true," Percy muttered .

"**That's really okay," I told her. "Don't go to any trouble."**

"**You're so cute. I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you." Aphrodite's eyes were tearing up. "Now, you'd better go. And do be careful in my husband's territory, Percy. Don't take anything. He is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash."**

"**What?" I asked. "You mean Hephaestus?"**

**But the car door opened and Ares grabbed my shoulder, pulling me out of the car and back into the desert night. **

**My audience with the goddess of love was over.**

"**You're lucky, punk." Ares pushed me away from the limo. "Be grateful." **

"**For what?"**

"**That we're being so nice. If it was up to me-"**

"**So why haven't you killed me?" I shot back. It was a stupid thing to say to the god of war, but being around him always made me angry and reckless.**

**Ares nodded, like I'd finally said something intelligent.**

"**I'd love to kill you, seriously," he said. "But see, I got a situation. Word on Olympus is that you might start the biggest war in history. I can't risk messing that up. Besides, Aphrodite thinks you're some kinda soap-opera star or something. I kill you, that makes me look bad with her."**

**I balled my fists. "Why wait? I beat you once. How's that ankle healing up?"**

**He grinned crookedly. "Not bad, punk. But you got nothing on the master of taunts. I'll start the fight when I'm good and ready. Until then … Get lost."**

**He snapped his fingers and the world did a three-sixty, spinning in a cloud of red dust. I fell to the ground. **

**When I stood up again, the limousine was gone. My friends and I were standing in the middle of the junkyard, mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.**

"**What did she want with you? Bianca asked, once I'd told them about Aphrodite.**

"**Oh, uh, not sure," I lied. "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not to pick anything up."**

**Zoe narrowed her eyes. "The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful, Percy. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."**

"Definitely," Athena said. Earning a glare from Aphrodite.

"**For once I agree with Zoe," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite."**

"**How do we get out of here?"**

"**That way," Zoe said. "That is west."**

"**How can you tell?"**

Annabeth shook her head. "Did you just doubt a hunter? Especially when it's Zoe Nightshade?"

"Maybe?" Percy said.

Everyone rolled their eyes at him.

"**Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "Which means that must be west."**

**She pointed west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out because there were so many other stars.**

"**Oh, yeah," I said. "The bear thing."**

**Zoe looked offended. "Show some respect. It was a bear. A worthy opponent."**

"**You act like it was real."**

"**Guys," Grover broke in. "Look!"**

**We'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.**

"The gold cars used to belong to Helios, and the silver ones belonged to Semele" Annabeth and Athena said.

"**Whoa," Bianca said. "That stuff … some of it looks like real gold."**

"**It is," Thalia said grimly. "Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."**

"**Look!" Bianca said. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!"**

**She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "It's just like Percy's sword!" **

**Zoe's face was grim. "Leave it, Bianca."**

"**But-"**

"**It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed."**

"The junkyard of the Gods is one of the only places that the Hermes kids don't steal from," Annabeth said.

**Bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down.**

"**I don't like this place," Thalia said. She gripped the shaft of her spear.**

"**You think we're going to get attacked by killer refrigerators?" I asked.**

"Wow Percy, really?" Rachel muttered earning a glare from Percy.

"You know Percy, you should just give up because your glares will never be as intimidating or as scary as Thalia's," Rachel said.

Thalia stuck her tongue out at Percy, while he just groaned.

"Actually Thalia, your glares are nothing compared to Nico's"

Thalia thought about it and replied, "true, but at least I got yours beat."

**She gave me a hard look. "Zoe is right, Percy. Things get thrown away here for a reason. Now come on, let's get across the yard."**

"**That's the second time you've agreed with Zoe," I muttered, but Thalia ignored me.**

Annabeth face palmed. "Percy, I'm surprised that Thalia didn't fry your brains."

**We started picking our way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, we would've gotten lost. All the hills pretty much looked the same.**

"I'm surprised you remember the name of the constellation," Annabeth said.

"I may not be a child of Athena, but I'm not exactly stupid you know," Percy replied.

**I'd like to say we left the stuff alone, but there was too much cool junk not to check out some of it. I found an electric guitar shaped like Apollo's lyre that was so sweet I had to pick it up.**

"You really thought that guitar was cool?" Artemis asked. "It sounds horrible!"

Which made everyone snicker at Apollo's expression.

**Finally, we saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between us and the road …**

"**What is that?" Bianca gasped.**

**Ahead of us was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together. **

**Bianca frowned. "They look like-"**

"**Toes," Grover said.**

**Bianca nodded. "Really, really large toes."**

**Zoe and Thalia exchanged nervous looks.**

"**Let's go around," Thalia said. "Far around."**

"**But the road is right over there," I protested. "Quicker to climb over."**

Thalia and Percy bowed their hands at the memory of what was going to happen next. Nico seemed to sense it as well, because he was shaking uncontrollably.

Which made Percy pull Nico in his lap and place his arms firmly around his waist. Knowing Nico really needed some comfort.

Nico leaned into his touch, glad for the comfort.

"**Come on." Thalia looked at me. "Around."**

**I didn't argue. The toes were starting to freak me out, too. I mean, who sculpts ten-foot-tall metal toes and sticks them in a junkyard?**

"Hephaestus," Artemis said, beating Annabeth and Athena by a millisecond.

**After several minutes of walking, we finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black asphalt.**

"**We made it out," Zoe said. "Thank the gods."**

**But apparently the gods didn't want to be thanked. At that moment, I heard a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal**

**I whirled around. Behind us, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. The ten toes tilted over, and I realized why they looked like toes. They were toes. The thing that rose up from the metal was a bronze giant in full Greek battle armor. He was impossibly tall-a skyscraper with legs and arms.**

**He looked down at us, and his face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME.**

"**Talos!" Zoe gasped.**

"**Someone took something," Zoe said. "Who took something?"**

**She stared accusingly at me.**

"She tends to do that," Artemis said. "She doesn't trust males, not after what happened with Hercules."

**I shook my head. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a thief."**

**Bianca didn't say anything. I could swear she looked guilty, but I didn't have much time to think about it, because the giant defective Talos took one step toward us, closing half the distance and making the ground shake.**

"**Run!" Grover yelped. **

**Great advice, except that it was hopeless. **

"Thanks Percy," Grover said.

**We split up, the way we'd done with the Nemean Lion. Thalia drew her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung his sword and took out a row of power lines, which exploded in sparks and scattered across Thalia's path.**

**Zoe's arrows whistled toward the creature's face but shattered harmlessly against the metal. **

**Bianca and I ended up next to each other, hiding behind a broken chariot.**

"**You took something," I said. "That bow."**

"**No!" she said, but her voice was quivering.**

"**Give it back! I said. "Throw it down!"**

"**I … I didn't take the bow! Besides, it's too late."**

"**Move!" I tore down the hill, Bianca right behind me, as he giant's foot smashed a crater in the ground where we'd been hiding.**

"**Come on!" I told Bianca. But she stayed frozen. From her pocket, she brought out a small metal figurine, a statue of a god. "It … it was for Nico. It was the only statue he didn't have."**

Nico bit back a sob and sighed. "If only she didn't."

"**How can you think of Mythomagic at a time like this?" I said.**

**There were tears in her eyes.**

"**Throw it down," I said. "Maybe the giant will leave us alone."**

"No point," Annabeth said.

**She dropped it reluctantly, but nothing happened. **

**The giant kept coming after Grover. It stabbed its sword into a junk hill, missing Grover by a few feet, but scrap metal made an avalanche over him, and then I couldn't see him anymore.**

"You know, that place would've been like paradise for us satyrs, if only it wasn't cursed." Grover said.

"**No!" Thalia yelled. She pointed her spear, and a blue arc of lightning shot out, hitting the monster in his rusty knee, which buckled. The giant collapsed, but immediately started to rise again. **

**He raised his foot to stomp and I saw that his sole was treaded like the bottom of a sneaker. There was a hole in his hell, like a large manhole, and there were red words painted around it, which I deciphered only after the foot came down: FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY.**

"**Crazy-idea time," I said.**

"Wow, kelp for brains actually had a plan," Thalia said.

"Well it worked," Percy replied.

"Yeah, it totally did." Nico said glumly.

**Bianca looked at me nervously. "Anything."**

**I told her about the maintenance hatch. "There may be a way to control the thing. Switches or something. I'm going to get inside."**

"**How? You'll have to stand under its foot! You'll be crushed."**

"**Distract it," I said. "I'll just have to time it right."**

**Bianca's jaw tightened. "No. I'll go."**

"**You can't. You're new at this! You'll die."**

"**It's my fault the monster came after us," she said. It's my responsibility. Here." She picked up the little god statue and pressed it into my hand. "If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him … tell him I'm sorry."**

"All is forgiven, Bianca." Nico said softly.

Everyone looked at him sympathetically.

While Percy kissed Nico deeply, which brought a sad smile to his lips.

"**Bianca, no!"**

**But she wasn't waiting for me. She charged at the monster's left foot.**

**Bianca got right next to the giant's foot, trying to balance herself on the metal scraps that swayed and shifted with his weight.**

**Zoe yelled, "What are you doing?"**

"**Get it to raise its foot!" she said.**

"**Hey, Junk Boy!" I yelled. "Down here."**

**I ran up its big toe and stabbed it with Riptide. The magic blad cut a gash in the bronze.**

**Unfortunately, my plan worked. Talos looked down at me and raised his foot to squash me like a bug. I didn't see what Bianca was doing. I had to turn and run. The foot came down about two inches behind me and I was knocked into the air.**

**The monster was about to finish me off, but Grover somehow dug himself out of the junk pile. He played his pipes frantically, and his music sent another power line pole whacking against Talos's thigh. The monster turned. Grover should've run, but he must've bee too exhausted from the effort of so much magic. He took two steps, fell, and didn't get back up.**

"**Grover!" Thalia and I both ran toward him, but I knew we'd be too late.**

"Way to think positively," Thalia said sarcastically.

**The monster raised his sword to smash Grover. Then he froze.**

**Talos cocked his head to one side, like he was hearing strange new music. He started moving his arms and legs in weird ways, doing the Funky Chicken. Then he made a fist and punched himself in the face.**

"The Funky Chicken?" Artemis asked. "Ugh, it must be another one of the stupid creations of Apollo."

"**Go Bianca!" I yelled.**

**Zoe looked horrified. "She is inside?"**

**The monster staggered around, and I realized we were still in danger. Thalia and I grabbed Grover and ran with him toward the highway. Zoe was already ahead of us. She yelled, "How will Bianca get out?"**

**The giant hit itself in the head again and dropped his sword. A shudder ran through his whole body and he staggered toward the power lines. **

"**Look out!" I yelled, but it was too late. **

Nico bit his lip and continued.

**The giant's ankle snared the lines, and blue flickers of electricity shot up his body. I hoped the inside was insulated. I had no idea what was going on in there. The giant careened back into the junkyard, and is right hand fell off, landing in the scrap metal with a horrible CLANG!**

"Bianca." Hades and Nico mumbled.

**The giant crumbled from the top down: his head, his chest, and finally, his legs collapsed. When we reached the wreckage we searched frantically, yelling Bianca's name. We crawled around in the vast hollow pieces and the legs and the head. We searched until the sun started to rise, but no luck.**

**Zoe sat down and wept. I was stunned to see her cry.**

**Thalia yelled in rage and impaled her sword in the giant's smashed face.**

"**We can keep searching," I sad. "It's light now. We'll find her."**

"**No we won't," Grover said miserably. "It happened just as it was supposed to."**

"**What are you talking about?" I demanded.**

**He looked up at me with big watery eyes. "The prophecy. **_**One shall be lost in the land without rain."**_

"**Why hadn't I seen it? Why had I let her go instead of me?"**

"It's not your fault Percy." Nico said. "I shouldn't have held grudges against you."

**Here we were in the desert. And Bianca di Angelo was gone.**

"Thalia, I believe this a special chapter for you." Nico said, after holding back his tears, then handing the book to Thalia.

Thalia shrugged. "Sure, why not."

"Thalia why don't you read it tomorrow morning, we need some sleep." Percy said quickly.

Thalia looked at him, confused. Then looked at Nico, he looked like he was going cry. She then said, "Yeah, we need to head to bed, we'll see you all in the morning.

All the gods nodded their head, even though they were a little confused. Some of the demigods were about to protest and Thalia shot them a death glare, making it clear they were not to argue. Nico really needed some comfort and the best person that could accomplish that would be Percy.


	15. Chapter 15

Percy took Nico's hand and headed towards their shared room on Olympus. Once they arrived in their room, Percy closed the door and climbed on the bed, and pulled Nico into his lap before he firmly placed his arms around Nico's waist, pulling close. Nico layed his head on Percy's shoulder and hugged Percy tightly, while letting out heart-broken sobs. After about twenty minutes or more he'd stopped crying, and said "I miss her so much." Percy gave him an assuring smile, while tightening his grip on Nico's waist and replied, "I know, though I may not be Bianca, but just know I'll always be there for you. Okay."

Nico returned the smile and replied, "I know and I'm thankful that I have you."

Percy then asked, "Are you okay now, Nico."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need sleep. But thanks for what you did in the throne room."

"I knew you needed some times alone, but I knew you needed comfort as well. Come on, you do need sleep. You've had a rough day."

Nico nodded. They snuggled into the bed, with Percy's arms protectively around Nico's waist, while Nico's head was on Percy's chest and they both fell fast asleep.

* * *

Percy woke up at 8, he gently shook Nico awake. Once awake they changed into a pair of clean clothes, since they slept in their dirty ones. Nico looked better than yesterday, he actually looked more lively awake. Which was very unusual for him, since Nico is not a morning person, but today he actually looked happy. It was now five minutes till they needed to head to breakfast, so they decided to go ahead and eat. They left their room and walked towards the kitchen, while holding hands.

Upon arriving in the kitchen they found everyone already eating, while Demeter handed Nico and Percy their food. Pancakes, French Toast, Waffles, Scrabbled Eggs, and Bacon with Milk, all of it blue of course.

Shortly after everyone was finished with breakfast, they all headed to finish reading the book.

* * *

**"I Have A Dam Problem," **Thalia read.

Thalia, Percy, and Grover suddenly busted up laughing. After they eventually calm down, everyone was looking at them curious on what this chapter was about. Nico then asked, "Is this when..."

"Yep." Percy said. Noticing that Nico was smirking and had a humorous glint in his eyes.

**At the edge of the dump, we found a tow truck so old it might've been thrown away itself. But the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas, so we decided to borrow it.**

**Thalia drove. She didn't seemed as stunned as Zoe or Grover or me.**

"**The skeletons are still out there," she reminded us. "We need to keep moving."**

"Oh right," Nico muttered. "I totally forgot about that." And turned to look at Percy and said, "You better not die."

**She navigated us through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright I hurt to look at. The air was cool and dry, but the nice weather just seemed like an insult after losing Bianca.**

"I remember my Uncle, Hades being very mad at father. Father was quite happy that a child of one his other brothers were dead. He despises them." Artemis said.

"Of course I was" Hades said darkly.

Zeus didn't dare say anything, knowing he'd get a scolding from Hera, but that didn't stop him from smirking.

"You're telling us?" Nico grumbled.

"That totally explains the good weather," Percy muttered.

**My hand closed around the little figurine that had cost her life. I still could've even tell what god it was supposed to be. Nico would know.**

**Oh, gods … what was I going to tell Nico?**

"**It should've been me," I said. "I should've gone into the giant."**

"**Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if …" He sniffled. "Do you think anybody would be my best friend?"**

"Grover," Annabeth said, while giving him a hug.

"Thanks a bunch for caring," Thalia said.

"Thalia! You know I care!" Grover was starting to grovel now.

Thalia laughed. "I'm joking Grover, no need to beg for forgiveness."

**He wiped under his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy, like he had on war paint. "I'm … I'm okay."**

**But he wasn't okay. Ever since the encounter in New Mexico-whatever had happened when that wild wind blew through-he seemed really fragile, even more emotional than usual. I was afraid to talk to him about it, because he might start bawling.**

**The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. That was just as well, because the road dead-ended.**

**Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"**

"Thalia, you really need to control you anger." Percy said

"Like your any better, Kelp Head." Thalia replied.

**I scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below us.**

"**There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."**

**I tried to see what he was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face "That's a goat path," I said.**

"**So?" he asked.**

"**The rest of us aren't goats."**

Everyone snickered, except Grover.

"**We can make it," Grover said. "I think."**

**I thought about that. I'd done cliffs before, but I didn't like them. Then I looked over at Thalia and saw how pale she'd gotten. Her problem with heights … she'd never be able to do it.**

"**No," I said. "I, uh, think we should go farther upstream."**

**Grover said, "But-"**

"**Come on," I said. "A walk won't hurt us."**

**I glanced at Thalia. Her eyes said a quick Thank you.**

"Her eyes tend to do that," Annabeth said. "They communicate to you in some sort of way. It's actually very interesting."

**We followed the river about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season, but I left a stack of golden drachmas on the counter and a note saying IOU two canoes.**

"**We need to go upstream," Zoe said. It was the first time I'd heard her speak since the junkyard, and I was worried about how bad she sounded, like somebody with the flu. "The rapids are too swift."**

"**Leave that to me," I said. We put the canoes in the water. **

"Arrogant," Nico teased.

**Thalia pulled me aside as we were getting the oars. "Thanks for back there."**

"**Don't mention it."**

"**Can you really …" She nodded to the rapids. "You know."**

"**I think so. Usually I'm good with water."**

"**Would you take Zoe?" she asked. "I think, ah, maybe you can talk to her."**

"**She's not going to like that."**

"Not at all." Thalia muttered

"**Please? I don't know if I can stand being in the same boat with her. She's … starting to worry me."**

**Thalia's shoulders relaxed. "I owe you one."**

"**Two."**

"**One and a half," Thalia said.**

**She smiled, and for a second, I remembered that I actually liker her when she wasn't yelling at me. **

"Glad to know," Thalia said, smirking.

**She turned and helped Grover get their canoe into the water.**

**As it turned out, I didn't need to control the currents. As soon as we got in the river, I looked over the edge of the boat and found a couple of naiads staring at me. **

**They looked like regular teenage girls, the kind you'd see in any mall, except for that they were underwater.**

**Hey, I said.**

**They made a bubbling sound that may have been giggling. I wasn't sure. I had a hard time understanding naiads.**

"Join the club," Thalia said.

**We're heading upstream I told them. Do you think you could-**

**Before I could even finish, the naiads each chose a canoe and began pushing us up the river. We started so fast Grover fell into his canoe with is hooves sticking up in the air.**

"You know that was pretty funny G-Man," Percy said.

"Yeah, whatever you think," Grover replied.

"**I hate naiads," Zoe grumbled.**

**A stream of water squirted up from the back of the boat and hit Zoe in the face.**

"**She-devils!" Zoe went for her bow.**

"**Whoa," I said. "They're just playing."**

"**Cursed water spirits. They've never forgiven me."**

"**Forgiven you for what?"**

Annabeth sighed. "Seaweed brain, did you really have to ask?"

**She slung her bow back over her shoulder. "It was a long time ago. Never mind."**

**We sped up the river, the cliffs looming up on either side of us.**

"**What happened to Bianca wasn't your fault," I told her. "It was my fault. I let her go."**

**I figured this would give Zoe an excuse to start yelling at me. At least that might shake her out of feeling depressed.**

**Instead, her shoulders slumped. "No, Percy. I pushed her into going on the quest. I was too anxious. She was a powerful half-blood. She had a kind heart, as well. I … I though she would be the next lieutenant."**

"**But you're the lieutenant."**

**She gripped the strap of her quiver. She looked more tired than I'd ever seen her. "Nothing can last forever, Percy. Over two thousand years I have led the Hunt, and my wisdom has not improved. Now Artemis herself is in danger."**

"She knew she was going to die," Annabeth said quietly. "She's looking at potential candidates to take her place."

"**Look, you can't blame yourself for that."**

"**If I had insisted on going with her-"**

"**You think you could've fought something powerful enough to kidnap Artemis? There's nothing you could have done."**

**Zoe didn't answer.**

**Without thinking about it, I took Riptide out of my pocket. Zoe looked at the pen, and her expression was pained.**

"**You made this," I said.**

"**Who told thee?"**

"**I had a dream about it."**

**She studied me. I was sure she was going to call me crazy, but she just sighed. "It was a gift. And a mistake."**

"**Who was the hero?" I asked.**

**Zoe shook her head. "Do not make me say his name. I swore never to speak it again."**

"**You act like I should know him."**

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Well of course you should."

"**I am sure you do, hero. Don't all you boys want to be just like him?"**

**Her voice was so bitter, I decided not to ask what she meant. I looked down at Riptide, and for the first time, I wondered if it was cursed.**

"**Your mother was a water goddess?" I asked.**

"**Yes. Pleione. She had five daughters. My sisters and I. The Hesperides."**

"**Those were the girls who lived in a garden at the edge of the West. With the golden apple tree and a dragon guarding it."**

"**Yes," Zoe said wistfully. "Ladon."**

"**But weren't there only four sisters?"**

"**There are now. I was exiled. Forgotten. Blotted out as if I never existed."**

"**Why?"**

**Zoe pointed to my pen. "Because I betrayed my family and helped a hero. You won't find that in the legend either. He never spoke of me. After his direct assault on Ladon failed, I gave him the idea of how to steal the apples, how to trick my father, but he took all the credit."**

"**But-"**

**Gurgle, gurgle, the naiad spoke in my mind. The canoe was slowing down. **

**I looked ahead, and I saw why.**

**This was as far as they could take us. The river was blocked. A dam the size of a football stadium stood in our path.**

"**Hoover Dam" Thalia said. "It's huge."**

**We stood at the river's edge, looking up at a curve of concrete that loomed between the cliffs. People were walking along ht top of the dam. They were so tiny they looked like fleas.**

**The naiads had left with a lot of grumbling-not in words I could understand, but it was obvious they hated this dam blocking their nice river. Our canoes floated back downstream, swirling in the wake of the dam's discharge vents.**

"**Seven hundred feet tall," I said. "Built in the 1930s."**

"Wow Percy, I'm surprised you remembered." Annabeth said, smiling proudly.

"**Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia said.**

**Grover sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States."**

**Zoe stared at us. "How do you know all that?"**

"**Annabeth," I said. "She liked architecture"**

"Liked?" Grover said. "Understatement of the century."

Which made everyone start laughing at Annabeth's expression.

"**She was nuts about monuments," Thalia said.**

"**Sprouted facts all the time." Grover sniffled. "So annoying."**

"Thanks a lot Grover!" Annabeth said.

"Sorry," Grover whimpered.

"**I wish she were here," I said.**

**The others nodded. Zoe was still looking at us strangely, but I didn't care. It seemed like cruel fate that we'd come to Hoover Dam, one of Annabeth's personal favorites, and she wasn't here to see it.**

"What are your favorites?" Rachel asked.

Grover, Thalia, and Percy groaned.

"You just had to ask that didn't you?" Nico said.

"Well … yeah?" Rachel replied.

"I have a lot of favorites, but I love the Parthenon the most." Annabeth said.

"Figures, I can see why." Rachel said.

"Mommy's girl," Nico muttered.

Unfortunately for him, Annabeth and Athena heard, and gave him a glare equally as scary as Thalia's with her stern, stormy grey eyes. It was like they were piercing through his soul, very ironic for a child of Hades.

"**You are mad," Zoe decided. "But that's where the road is." She pointed to a huge parking garage next to the top of the dam. "And so, sightseeing it is."**

**We had to walk for almost an hour before we found a path that led up to the road.**

**Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away form the edges. Grover kept sniffing the wind and looking nervous. He didn't say anything, but I knew he smelled monsters. **

"**How close are they?" I asked him.**

**He shook his head. "Maybe not close. The wind on the dam, the desert all around us … the scent can probably carry for miles. But it's coming from several directions. I don't like that."**

**I didn't either. It was already Wednesday, only two days until winter solstice, and we still had a long way to go. We didn't need any more monsters. **

"Totally agree," Thalia, Nico, and Percy said.

"**There's a snack bar in the visitor center," Thalia said.**

"**You've been there before?" I asked.**

"**Once. To see the guardians." She pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues. They looked kind of like Oscar statues with wings.**

"**They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from Athena."**

**Tourists were clustered all around them. They seemed to be looking at the statues' feet.**

"**What are they doing?" I asked.**

"**Rubbing the toes," Thalia said. "They think it's good luck."**

"**Why?"**

**She shook her head. "Mortals get crazy ideas. They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."**

"Mortals come up with crazy ideas all thanks to Hermes," Persephone said.

"**Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoe said. "We should eat while we can."**

**Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"**

Everyone laughed at that. Though causing the gods to fall off their thrones.

**Zoe blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"**

"**Nothing," Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam French fries."**

**Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."**

"Way to abuse the joke," Nico said.

**I busted up, and I probably would've kept laughing all day, but then I heard a noise:**

"**Mooooo."**

**The smile melted off my face. I wondered if the noise was just in my head, but Grover stopped laughing too. He was looking around, confused. "Did I just hear a cow?"**

"**A dam cow?" Thalia laughed.**

"**No," Grover said. "I'm serious."**

**Zoe listened. "I hear nothing."**

**Thalia was looking at me. "Percy, are you okay?"**

"**Yeah," I said. "You guys go ahead. I'll be right in."**

"Percy, it is not wise to keep the Ophiotaurus a secret." Annabeth said.

"Well I'm sorry," Percy replied. "I thought it was just a harmless cow."

"**What's wrong?" Grover asked.**

"**Nothing," I said. "I … I just need a minute. To think."**

**They hesitated, but I guess I must've looked upset, because they finally went into the visitor center without me. As soon as they were gone, I jogged to the north edge of the dam and looked over.**

"Yeah," Thalia said. "You did look very upset. I thought you were going to explode into tears or something."

"**Moo."**

**She was about thirty feet below in the lake, but I could see her clearly: my friend from Long Island Sound, Bessie the cow serpent.**

"You know, I still can't get over the fact that you named the Ophiotaurus Bessie," Annabeth said. "Why did you think it was a girl anyways?"

"I … I don't know," Percy stammered.

"It's because his brain is full of kelp," Thalia said.

"**What are you doing here?" I asked her.**

"**Moo!"**

**Her voice was urgent, like she was trying to warn me of something. **

"**How did you get here?" I asked. We were thousand of miles from Long Island, hundreds of miles inland. There was no way she could've swum all the way here. And yet, here she was.**

**Bessie swam in a circle and butted her head against the side of the dam. "Moo!"**

**She wanted me to come with her. She was telling me to hurry.**

"**I can't," I told her. "My friends are inside."**

**She looked at me with her sad brown eyes. Then she gave one more urgent "Mooo!," did a flip, and disappeared into the water.**

**I hesitated. Something was wrong. She was trying to tell me that. **

"Awwww," Thalia said. "Percy's guardian angel!"

"Thalia!" Percy yelled.

**I looked down the dam road to the east and I saw two men walking slowly toward me. They wore gray camouflage outfits that flickered over skeletal bodies.**

**I ran for the visitor center.**

**I was almost to the stairs when I heard tires squeal. On the west side of the dam, a black van swerved to a stop in the middle of the road, nearly plowing into some old people.**

**The van doors opened and more skeleton warriors piled out. I was surrounded.**

"I told you all that it would be really bad!" Grover said. "See, I was right!"

"Unfortunately you were right," Percy said.

**I bolted down the stairs and through the museum entrance. The security guard at the metal detector yelled, "Hey, kid!" But I didn't stop.**

**I ran through the exhibits and ducked behind a tour group. I looked for my friends, but I couldn't see them anywhere. Where was the dam snack bar?**

"**Stop!" The metal-detector guy yelled.**

**There was no place to go but into an elevator with the tour group. I ducked inside just as the door closed.**

"**We'll be going down seven hundred feet," our tour guide said cheerfully.**

"**Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen, the elevator hardly ever breaks."**

"**Does this go to the snack bar?" I asked her.**

"Are you sure it was a her?" Nico asked while snickering. "I mean, you did call the Ophiotaurus a she."

Everyone laughed, while Percy's face glowed red.

"Just … just shut up Nico!" Percy said.

Nico just gave him a innocent smile.

Percy groaned while saying, "Sometimes I hate that its impossible to stay mad at you."

"I'm just special that way." Nico said cheekly.

**A few people behind me chuckled. The tour guide looked at me. **

"**To the turbines, young man," the lady said. "Weren't you listening to my fascinating presentation upstairs?"**

"No he wasn't," Nico said. "Only Annabeth would. The rest of us would be asleep."

"Nico, you are so dead after this!" Annabeth said.

"Should I be worried." Nico whispered to Percy

Percy thought about it and answered, "Definitely."

"**Oh, uh, sure. Is there another way out of the dam?"**

"**It's a dead end," a tourist behind me said. "For heaven's sake. The only way out is the other elevator."**

**The doors opened. **

"**Go right ahead, folks," the tour guide told us. "Another ranger is waiting for you at the end of the corridor."**

**I didn't have much choice but to go out with the group. **

"**And young man," the tour guide called. I looked back. She'd taken off her glasses. Her eyes were starling gray, like storm clouds. "There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it."**

"Athena," Percy breathed.

"That's right kelp for brains," Thalia said. "I can't believe you didn't even recognize her after she'd shown you her eyes. By the way, did you even realize you just got dissed?"

"Um … no?" Percy replied.

**The doors closed with the tour guide still inside, leaving me alone. **

**Before I could think too much about the woman in the elevator, a ding came from around the corner. The second elevator was opening, and I heard an unmistakable sound-the clattering of skeleton teeth.**

**I ran after the tour group, through a tunnel carved out of solid rock. It seemed to run forever. I came out on a U-shaped balcony that overlooked this huge warehouse area. Fifty feet below, enormous turbines were running. **

**Another tour guide was talking over the microphone, telling the tourists about water supplies in Nevada. I prayed that Thalia, Zoe, and Grover were okay. They might already be captured, or eating at the snack bar, completely unaware that we were being surrounded. **

**I worked my way around the crowd, trying not to be too obvious about it. There was a hallway at the other side of the balcony-maybe some place I could hide. I kept my hand on Riptide ready to strike.**

"What' coming up next is not a very pleasant memory, all thanks to Percy over here," Rachel said, pointing at Percy.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Percy said.

**By the time I got to the opposite side of the balcony, my nerves were shot. I backed into the little hallway and watched the tunnel I'd come from.**

**Then right behind me I heard a sharp Chhh! Like the voice of a skeleton.**

**Without thinking, I uncapped Riptide and spun, slashing with y sword.**

**The girl I'd just tried to slice in half yelped and dropped her Kleenex.**

"**Oh my god!" she shouted. "Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?"**

"Oh my gods," Annabeth and Thalia corrected.

**The first thing that went through my head was that the sword hadn't hurt her. It had passed clean through her body harmlessly. "You're mortal!"**

**She looked at me in disbelief. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I'm mortal! How did you get that sword past security?"**

"**I didn't-Wait, you can see it's a sword?"**

"I still can't believe that you couldn't figure out that she's clear sighted," Annabeth said.

**The girl rolled her eyes, which were green like mine. She had frizzy reddish-brown hair. Her nose was also red, like she had a cold. She wore a big maroon Harvard sweatshirt and jeans that were covered with marker stains and little holes, like she spent her free time poking them with a fork.**

"Thanks Percy," Rachel said sarcastically.

"**Well, it's either a sword or the biggest toothpick in the world," she said. "And why didn't it hurt me? I mean, not that I'm complaining. Who are you? And who, what is that you're wearing? Is that made of lion fur?"**

**She asked so many questions so fast, it was like she was throwing rocks at me. I couldn't think of what to say. **

"Tell me about it," Nico said. "That's what Bianca used to do to me, but thinking about that, I miss it even though I found it very annoying."

Percy looked at Nico with the expression on his face, saying. "Are you kidding me."

Nico just shrugged his shoulders sheepishly.

**I looked at my sleeves to see if the Nemean Lion pelt had somehow changed back to fur, but it still looked like a brown winter coat to me.**

**I knew the skeleton warriors were still chasing me. I had no time to waste. But I just stared at the redheaded girl. Then I remembered what Thalia had done at Westover Hall to fool the teachers. Maybe I could manipulate the Mist.**

**I concentrated hard and snapped my fingers. "You don't see a sword," I told the girl. "It's just a ballpoint pen."**

"Sorry to ruin your hopes Percy, but it wouldn't have worked even if Rachel wasn't clear sighted. You need to actually learn how to do it, you can't just improvise." Thalia said.

**She blinked. "Um … no. It's a sword, weirdo."**

"**Who are you?" I demanded.**

**She huffed indignantly. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Now, are you going to answer my questions or should I scream for security?"**

"**No!" I said. "I mean, I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm in trouble."**

"**In a hurry or in trouble?"**

"Too many questions," Thalia said. "If I was Percy, I would have knocked you unconscious already."

"I'm glad you weren't," Rachel said.

"**Um, sort of both."**

**She looked over my shoulder and her eyes widened.**

"**Bathroom!"**

"**What?"**

"**Bathroom! Behind me! Now!"**

**I don't know why, but I listened to her. I slipped inside the boy's bathroom and left Rachel Elizabeth Dare standing outside. Later, that seemed cowardly to me. I'm also pretty sure it saved my life.**

**I heard the clattering, hissing sounds of skeletons as they came closer.**

**I grip tightened on Riptide. What was I thinking? I'd left a mortal girl out there to die. I was preparing to burst out and fight when Rachel Elizabeth Dare started talking in that rapid-fire machine gun way of hers.**

"**Oh my god! Did you see that kid? It's about time you got here. He tried to kill me! He had a sword, for god's sake. You security guys let a sword-swinging lunatic inside a national landmark? I mean, jeez! He ran that way toward those turbine thingies. I think he went over the side or something. Maybe he fell."**

**The skeletons clattered excitedly. I heard them moving off.**

**Rachel opened the door. "All clear. But you'd better hurry."**

**I peeked around the corner. Three skeleton warriors were running toward the to the end of the balcony. The way to the elevator was clear for a few seconds.**

"**I owe you one, Rachel Elizabeth Dare."**

"**What are those things?" she asked. "They looked like-"**

"**Skeletons?"**

"**Do yourself a favor," I said. "Forget it. Forget you ever saw me."**

"**Forget you tried to kill me?"**

"**Yeah. That, too."**

"**But who are you?"**

"**Percy-" I started to say. Then the skeletons turned around. "Gotta go!"**

"**What kind of name is Percy Gotta-go?"**

**I bolted for the exit.**

**The café was packed with kids enjoying the best part of the tour-the dam lunch. Thalia, Zoe, and Grover were just sitting down with their food.**

"**We need to leave," I gasped. "Now!"**

"**But we just got our burritos!" Thalia said.**

"I'm just glad there weren't any enchiladas, otherwise Grover would never leave that place." Percy said.

**Zoe stood up, muttering an Ancient Greek curse. "He's right! Look."**

**The café windows wrapped all the way around the observation floor, which gave us a beautiful panoramic view of the skeletal army that had come to kill us.**

"Wow Percy, panoramic?" Annabeth said. "I'm surprised you even know what that means."

**I counted on the east side of the dam road, blocking the way to Arizona. Three more on the west side, guarding Nevada. All of them were armed with batons and pistols.**

"Hmmm, I'm going to have to get dad to give them better weapons." Nico said. "Seriously? Batons?"

**But our immediate problem was a lot closer. The three skeletal warriors who'd been chasing me in the turbine room now appeared on the stairs. They saw me from across the cafeteria and clattered their teeth.**

"**Elevator!" Grover said. We bolted that direction, but the doors opened with a pleasant ding, and three more warriors stepped out. Every warrior was accounted for, minus the one Bianca had blasted to flames in New Mexico. We were completely surrounded.**

**Then Grover had a brilliant, totally Grover-like idea.**

"It was brilliant, wasn't it?" Grover said.

"**Burrito fight!" he yelled, and flung his Guacamole Grande at the nearest skeleton.**

**Grover's lunch hit the skeleton and knocked his skull clean off his shoulders. I'm not sure what the other kids in the café saw, but they went crazy and started throwing their burritos and baskets of chips and sodas at each other, shrieking and screaming.**

**The skeletons tried to aim their gun, but it was hopeless. Bodies and food and drinks were flying everywhere.**

**In the chaos, Thalia and I tackled the other two skeletons on the stairs and sent them flying into the condiment table. Then we all raced downstairs, Guacamole Grandes whizzing past our heads.**

"Who agrees that it was the best food fight ever?" Grover asked.

"Totally," Percy said.

Thalia burst out laughing, thinking.

"Boys."

"**What now?" Grover asked as we burst outside.**

**I didn't have an answer. The warriors on the road were closing in from either direction. We ran across the street to the pavilion wit the winged bronze statues, but that just put our backs to the mountain.**

**The skeletons moved forward, forming a crescent around us. Their brethren from the café were running up to join them. One was still putting its skull back on its shoulders. Another was covered in ketchup and mustard. Two more had burritos lodged in their rib cages. They didn't look happy about it. They drew batons and advanced.**

"They weren't at all. It drove dad crazy!" Nico said.

Everyone glanced at Hades, you could tell by his expression that he was not very happy with that.

"**Four against eleven," Zoe muttered. "And they cannot die."**

"**It's been nice adventuring with you guys," Grover said, his voice trembling.**

**Something shiny caught the corner of my eye. I glanced behind me at the statue's feet. "Who," I said. "Their toes really are bright."**

"**Percy!" Thalia said. "This isn't the time."**

**But I couldn't help staring at the two giant bronze guys with tall bladed wings like letter openers. They were weathered brown except their toes, which shone like new pennies from all the times people had rubbed them for good luck.**

**Good luck. The blessing of Zeus.**

**I thought about the tour guide in the elevator. Her gray eyes and her smile. What had she said? There is always a way for those clever enough to find it.**

"Great," Annabeth said. "He still hasn't figured out that the tour guide was mom."

"**Thalia," I said. "Pray to your dad."**

**She glared at me. "He never answers."**

"**Just this once," I pleaded. "Ask for help/ I think … I think the statues can give us some luck."**

**Six skeletons raised their guns. The other five came forward with batons. Fifty feet away. Forty feet.**

"**Do it!" I yelled.**

"**No!" Thalia said. "He won't answer me."**

"Thalia," Artemis said. "He heard your prayers, it's just that the ancient laws forbid him from interfering. You should have seen the state of father when he turned you into a tree."

All the gods and goddess' nodded their in agreement, that really was a bad day.

"**This time is different!"**

"**Who says?"**

**I hesitated. "Athena, I think."**

**Thalia scowled like she was sure I'd gone crazy.**

"You think?" Thalia said.

"**Try it," Grover pleaded.**

**Thalia closed her eyes. Her lips moved in a silent prayer. I put in my own prayer to Annabeth's mom, hoping I was right that it had been her in that elevator-that she was trying to help us save her daughter.**

**And nothing happened.**

**The skeletons closed in. I raised Riptide to defend myself. Thalia held up her shield. Zoe pushed Grover behind her and aimed an arrow at a skeleton's head.**

**A shadow fell over me. I thought maybe it was the shadow of death. **

"Oh wow, how cliché is that?" Nico teased. "The shadow of death?"

**Then I realized it was the shadow of an enormous wing. The skeletons looked up too late. A flash of bronze and all of the baton-wielders were swept aside.**

**The other skeletons opened fire. I raised my lion coat for protection, but I didn't need it. The bronze angels stopped in front of us and folded their wings like shields.**

"**Man, it feels good to stand up!" the first angel said. **

"**Will ya look at my toes?" the other said. "Holy Zeus, what were those tourist thinking?"**

**As stunned as I was by the angels, I was more concerned with the skeletons. A few of them were getting up again, reassembling bony hands groping for their weapons.**

"**Trouble!" I said.**

"**Get us out of here!" Thalia yelled.**

**Both angels looked down at her. "Zeus's kid?"**

"**Yes!"**

"I can't believe that they couldn't recognize one of Zeus's kids. The eyes?" Annabeth said.

"**Could I get a please, Miss Zeus's Kid?" an angel asked.**

"**Please!"**

**The angels looked at each other and shrugged. **

"**Could use a stretch," one decided.**

**And the net thing I knew, one of them grabbed Thalia and me, the other grabbed Zoe and Grover, and we flew straight up, over the dam and the river, the skeleton warriors shrinking to tiny specks below us and the sound of gunfire echoing off the sides of the mountains.**

"Thanks dad," Thalia said, looking at her dad.

There was a sight rumbling sound, while Zeus smiled at his daughter, like his own way of saying, "you're welcome."

"Alright who's next?" Thalia asked.

"What's the next chapter titled?" Annabeth asked.

"I wrestle Santa's evil twin," Thalia replied.

"I'll read then," Hermes said.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: I have exams all this week, so I might not be writing anything this week. There might be a chance of me update after this week since I'm be on christmas break. You all just have to wait and see. Keep the reviews up, its the only reason I actually considered continuing this, it really lifts my spirits, even if I don't want to write, that convinces me to. ~NicoDiAngeloLover7

* * *

**"I Wrestle Santa's Evil Twin,"** Hermes read.

**"Tell me when it's over," Thalia said. Her eyes were shut tight. The statue was holding on ****to us so we couldn't fall, but still Thalia clutched his arm like it was the most important ****thing in the world.**

She earned a few snickers, but that resulted for them getting shocked.

**"Everything's fine," I promised.**

**"Are... are we very high?"**

**I looked down. Below us, a range of snowy mountains zipped by. I stretched out my foot and ****kicked snow off one of the peaks.**

"Not high at all," Apollo commented**  
**

**"Nah," I said. "Not that high."**

**"We are in the Sierras.'" Zoe yelled. She and Grover were hanging from the arms of the ****other statue. "I have hunted here before. At this speed, we should be in San Francisco in a ****few hours."**

**"Hey, hey, Frisco!" our angel said. "Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the Mechanics ****Monument again! They know how to party!"**

**"Oh, man," the other angel said. "I am so there!"**

**"You guys have visited San Francisco?" I asked.**

**"We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right?" our statue said. "Those ****mechanics took us over to the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble lady ****statues, see. And-"**

**"Hank!" the other statue Chuck cut in. "They're kids, man."**

**"Oh, right." If bronze statues could blush, I swear Hank did. "Back to flying."**

**We sped up, so I could tell the angels were excited. The mountains fell away into hills, ****and then we were zipping along over farmland and towns and highways.**

**Grover played his pipes to pass the time. Zoe got bored and started shooting arrows at ****random billboards as we flew by. Every time she saw a Target department store-and we passed ****dozens of them-she would peg the store's sign with a few bulls-eyes at a hundred miles an ****hour. ****Thalia kept her eyes closed the whole way. She muttered to herself a lot, like she was ****praying.**

Thalia just rolled her eyes.**  
**

**"You did good back there," I told her. "Zeus listened."**

"I know," Thalia mumbled quietly. Zeus gave her a small smile.**  
**

**It was hard to tell what she was thinking with her eyes closed.**

**"Maybe," she said. "How did you get away from the skeletons in the generator room, anyway?**

**You said they cornered you."**

**I told her about the weird mortal girl, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who seemed to be able to see ****right through the Mist. I thought Thalia was going to call me crazy, but she just nodded.**

Rachel just huffed and muttered something about that she wasn't crazy.**  
**

**"Some mortals are like that," she said. "Nobody knows why."**

**Suddenly I flashed on something I'd never considered.**

**My mom was like that. She had seen the Minotaur on Half-Blood Hill and known exactly what ****it was. She hadn't been surprised at all last year when I'd told her my friend Tyson was ****really a Cyclops. Maybe she'd known all along. No wonder she'd been so scared for me as I ****was growing up. She saw through the Mist even better than I did.**

**"Well, the girl was annoying," I said. "But I'm glad I didn't vaporize her. That would've ****been bad." **

**Thalia nodded. "Must be nice to be a regular mortal." She said that as if she'd given it a ****lot of thought.**

The demigods nodded in agreement.**  
**

**"Where you guys want to land?" Hank asked, waking me up from a nap.**

**I looked down and said, "Whoa."**

**I'd seen San Francisco in pictures before, but never in real life. It was probably the most ****beautiful city I'd ever seen: kind of like a smaller, cleaner Manhattan, if Manhattan had ****been surrounded by green hills and fog. There was a huge bay and ships, islands and ****sailboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge sticking up out of the fog. I felt like I should take ****a picture or something. Greetings from Frisco. Haven't Died Yet. Wish You Were Here.**

Everyone just burst out laughing at that. Nico was chuckling at that, only Percy would come up with something like that.**  
**

**"There," Zoe suggested. "By the Embarcadero Building."**

**"Good thinking," Chuck said. "Me and Hank can blend in with the pigeons."**

Everyone just rolled their eyes at that. While Thalia starts to laugh uncontrollably, while getting strange looks from everyone. After she calmed down, she asked Percy, "you remember what happens don't you?"

Percy just groaned and face palmed, remembering that he truly looked like an idiot when he tried to "blend in.'**  
**

They both got some curious looks, while Nico was snickering since Percy told him what happened and was trying to picture what he had to look like. Thalia just wave her hand, and said, "It'll explain."

**We all looked at him.**

**"Kidding," he said. "Sheesh, can't statues have a sense of humor?"**

**As it turned out, there wasn't much need to blend in. It was early morning and not many ****people were around. We freaked out a homeless guy on the ferry dock when we landed. He ****screamed when he saw Hank and Chuck and ran off yelling something about metal angels from ****Mars.**

The gods and demigods chuckled at that, while the goddesses just rolled their eyes.**  
**

**We said our good-byes to the angels, who flew off to party with their statue friends.**

**That's when I realized I had no idea what we were going to do next.**

**We'd made it to the West Coast. Artemis was here somewhere. Annabeth too, I hoped. But I ****had no idea how to find them, and tomorrow was the winter solstice. Nor did I have any clue ****what monster Artemis had been hunting. It was supposed to find us on the quest. It was ****supposed to "show the trail," but it never had. Now we were stuck on the ferry dock with ****not much money, no friends, and no luck.**  
**After a brief discussion, we agreed that we needed to figure out just what this mystery ****monster was.**

**"But how?" I asked.**

**"Nereus," Grover said.**

Percy grinned, while Thalia was trying not to laugh.**  
**

**I looked at him. "What?"**

**"Typical seaweed brain." Thalia, Rachel, and Annabeth said simultaneously.  
**

**"Isn't that what Apollo told you to do? Find Nereus?"**

**I nodded. I'd completely forgotten my last conversation with the sun god.**

**The old man of the sea," I remembered. "I'm supposed to find him and force him to tell us ****what he knows. But how do I find him?"**

**Zoe made a face. "Old Nereus, eh?"**

**"You know him?" Thalia asked.**

**My mother was a sea goddess. Yes, I know , he is never very hard to find.**

**Just follow the smell."**

**"What do you mean?" I asked.**

**"Come," she said without enthusiasm. "I will show thee."**

**I knew I was in trouble when we stopped at the Goodwill drop box. Five minutes later, Zoe ****had me outfitted in a ragged flannel shirt and jeans three sizes too big, bright red ****sneakers, and a floppy rainbow hat.**

Everyone who was trying their best to hold in their laughter, didn't try now. The Gods fells off their thrones, the goddesses almost fell off theirs' and the demigods were just rolling on the floor dying of laughter. Percy just had his arms crossed with a scowl on his face. **  
**

Hermes continued to read, after 10 when they all calmed down enough to read.

**"Oh, yeah," Grover said, trying not to bust out laughing, "you look completely ****inconspicuous now."**

That got a snicker out of everyone.**  
**

**Zoe nodded with satisfaction. "A typical male vagrant."**

**"Thanks a lot," I grumbled. "Why am I doing this again?"**

**"I told thee. To blend in."**

**She led the way back down to the waterfront. After a long time spent searching the docks, ****Zoe finally stopped in her tracks. She pointed down a pier where a bunch of homeless guys ****were huddled together in blankets, waiting for the soup kitchen to open for lunch.**

**"He will be down there somewhere," Zoe said. "He never travels very far from the water. He ****likes to sun himself during the day."**

**"How do I know which one is him?"**

**"Sneak up," she said. "Act homeless. You will know him. He will smell... different."**

Percy and Poseidon looked green in the face. He truly did have a different smell.**  
**

**"Great." I didn't want to ask for particulars. "And once I find him?"**

**"Grab him," she said. "And hold on. He will try anything to get rid of thee. Whatever he ****does, do not let go. Force him to tell thee about the monster."**

**"We've got your back," Thalia said. She picked something off the back of my shirt-a big ****clump of fuzz that came from who-knows-where. "Eww. On second thought... I don't want your ****back. But we'll be rooting for you."**

"Gee, thanks," Percy replied sarcastically.**  
**

**Grover gave me a big thumbs-up.**

**I grumbled how nice it was to have super-powerful friends. Then I headed toward the dock.**

**I pulled my hat down and stumbled like I was about to pass out, which wasn't hard ****considering how tired I was. I passed our homeless friend from the Embarcadero, who was ****still trying to warn the other guys about the metal angels from Mars.**

**He didn't smell good, but he didn't smell... different. I kept walking.**

**A couple of grimy dudes with plastic grocery bags for hats checked me out as I came close.**

**"Beat it, kid!" one of them muttered.**

**I moved away. They smelled pretty bad, but just regular old bad. Nothing unusual.**

**There was a lady with a bunch of plastic flamingos sticking out of a shopping cart. She ****glared at me like I was going to steal her birds.**

**At the end of the pier, a guy who looked about a million years old was passed out in a ****patch of sunlight. He wore pajamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that probably used to be white. He ****was fat, with a white beard that had turned yellow, kind of like Santa Claus, if Santa had ****been rolled out of bed and dragged through a landfill.**

"So that's Santa's Evil Twin," Apollo commented. Earning eye rolls.**  
**

**And his smell?**

**As I got closer, I froze. He smelled bad, all right-but ocean bad. Like hot seaweed and ****dead fish and brine. If the ocean had an ugly side... this guy was it.**

**I tried not to gag as I sat down near him like I was tired. Santa opened one eye ****suspiciously. I could feel him staring at me, but I didn't look. I muttered something about ****stupid school and stupid parents, figuring that might sound reasonable. ****Santa Claus went back to sleep.**  
**I tensed. I knew this was going to look strange. I didn't know how the other homeless ****people would react. But I jumped Santa Claus.**

**"Ahhhhhl" he screamed. I meant to grab him, but he seemed to grab me instead. It was as if ****he'd never been asleep at all. He certainly didn't act like a weak old man. He had a grip ****like steel. "Help me!" he screamed as he squeezed me to death.**

**"That's a crime!" one of the other homeless guys yelled. "Kid rolling an old man like ****that!"**

**I rolled, all right-straight down the pier until my head slammed into a post. **

Nico looked at Percy, had his hands in his hair checking to see if a bump was there. Percy asked, "Nico, what are you doing?"

"Checking to see if you got a bump from that and still have it." That got some snickers, and when he finished and clarified that he didn't find any, they got some eyes rolls directed at them.**  
**

**I was dazed ****for a second, and Nereus's grip slackened. He was making a break for it. Before he could, I ****regained my senses and tackled him from behind.**

**"I don't have any money!" He tried to get up and run, but I locked my arms around his ****chest. His rotten fish smell was awful, but I held on.**

**"I don't want money," I said as he fought. "I'm a half-blood! I want information.'"**

**That just made him struggle harder. "Heroes! Why do you always pick on me?"**

**"Because you know everything!"**

"True." Athena commented.**  
**

**He growled and tried to shake me off his back. It was like holding on to a roller coaster.**

**He thrashed around, making it impossible for me to keep on my feet, but I gritted my teeth ****and squeezed tighter. We staggered toward the edge of the pier and I got an idea.**

**"Oh, no!" I said. "Not the water!"**

Poseidon, and Percy grinned knowing that this is going to be interesting.**  
**

**The plan worked. Immediately, Nereus yelled in triumph and jumped off the edge. Together, ****we plunged into San Francisco Bay.**

**He must've been surprised when I tightened my grip, the ocean filling me with extra ****strength. But Nereus had a few tricks left, too. He changed shape until I was holding a ****sleek black seal.**

**I've heard people make jokes about trying to hold a greased pig, but I'm telling you, ****holding on to a seal in the water is harder. Nereus plunged straight down, wriggling and ****thrashing and spiraling through the dark water. If I hadn't been Poseidon's son, there's no ****way I could've stayed with him.**

**Nereus spun and expanded, turning into a killer whale, but I grabbed his dorsal fin as he ****burst out of the water.**

**A whole bunch of tourists went, "Whoa!"**

**I managed to wave at the crowd. Yeah, we do this every day here in San Francisco.**

This got some laughs from everybody, while the demigods were thinking, "Typical Seaweed Brain."**  
**

**Nereus plunged into the water and turned into a slimy eel. I started to tie him into a knot ****until he realized what was going on and changed back to human form. "Why won't you drown?" ****he wailed, pummeling me with his fists.**

**"I'm Poseidon's son," I said.**

**"Curse that upstart! I was here first!"**

**Finally he collapsed on the edge of the boat dock. Above us was one of those tourist piers ****lined with shops, like a mall on water. Nereus was heaving and gasping. I was feeling ****great. I could've gone on all day, but I didn't tell him that. I wanted him to feel like ****he'd put up a good fight.**

**My friends ran down the steps from the pier.**

**"You got him!" Zoe said.**

**"You don't have to sound so amazed," I said.**

**Nereus moaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I suppose?**

**You'll let me go if I answer your question?"**

**"I've got more than one question," I said.**

**"Only one question per capture! That's the rule."**

**I looked at my friends.**

**This wasn't good. I needed to find Artemis, and I needed to figure out what the doomsday ****creature was. I also needed to know if Annabeth was still alive, and how to rescue her. How ****could I ask that all in one question?**

**A voice inside me was screaming Ask about Annabeth! That's what I cared about most.**

Nico gave Percy a glare, who in return, rolled his eyes at him. Percy then whispered in his ear, "You know the past is the past, there's no need for evil looks or to be jealous."

Nico just gave him an innocent smile.**  
**

**But then I imagined what Annabeth might say. She would never forgive me if I saved her and ****didn't save Olympus. Zoe would want me to ask about Artemis, but Chiron had told us the ****monster was even more important.**

**I sighed. "All right, Nereus. Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring ****an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting."**  
**The Old Man of the Sea smiled, showing off his mossy green teeth.**

**"Oh, that's too easy," he said evilly. "He's right there."**

**Nereus pointed to the water at my feet.**

**"Where?" I said.**

**"The deal is complete!" Nereus gloated. With a pop, he turned into a goldfish and did a ****backflip into the sea.**

**"You tricked me!" I yelled.**

**"Wait." Thalia's eyes widened. "What is that?"**

**"MOOOOOOOO!"**

**I looked down, and there was my friend the cow serpent, swimming next to the dock. She ****nudged my shoe and gave me the sad brown eyes.**

**"Ah, Bessie," I said. "Not now."**

**"Mooo!"**

**Grover gasped. "He says his name isn't Bessie."**

**"You can understand her... er, him?"**

**Grover nodded. "It's a very old form of animal speech. But he says his name is the ****Ophiotaurus."**

Everyone's eyes widened at this. They didn't they it would be reborn just yet.**  
**

**"The Ophi-what?"**

**"It means serpent bull in Greek," Thalia said. "But what's it doing here?"**

**"Moooooooo!"**

**"He says Percy is his protector," Grover announced.**

**"And he's running from the bad people. He says they are close."**

**I was wondering how you got all that out of a single moooooo.**

"That's besides the point, Kelp Head." Thalia said.**  
**

**"Wait," Zoe said, looking at me. "You know this cow?"**

**I was feeling impatient, but I told them the story.**

**Thalia shook her head in disbelief. "And you just forgot to mention this before?"**

**"Well... yeah." It seemed silly, now that she said it, but things had been happening so fast.**

**Bessie, the Ophiotaurus, seemed like a minor detail.**

"Minor. Really Percy," Annabeth questioned.**  
**

Percy just smiled innocently.

**"I am a fool," Zoe said suddenly. "I know this story!"**

**"What story?"**

**"From the War of the Titans," she said. "My... my father told me this tale, thousands of ****years ago. This is the beast we are looking for."**  
**"Bessie?" I looked down at the bull serpent. "But... he's too cute. He couldn't destroy the ****world."**

"It's power comes from being sacrificed. There's power in killing innocence." Athena said.**  
**

**"That is how we were wrong," Zoe said. "We've been anticipating a huge dangerous monster, ****but the Ophiotaurus does not bring down the gods that way. He must be sacrificed."**

Athena nodded her head and was about to say something, when interrupted by Poseidon. "Owl Head, no need to explain, we'll end up falling asleep if you do."

Which caused Athena to send an owl to peck his head, while she smirked. After about 15 minutes later after it was gone, Poseidon glared at her.

**"MMMM," Bessie lowed.**

**"I don't think he likes the S-word," Grover said.**

**I patted Bessie on the head, trying to calm him down. He let me scratch his ear, but he was ****trembling.**

**"How could anyone hurt him?" I said. "He's harmless."**

**Zoe nodded. "But there is power in killing innocence. ****Terrible power. The Fates ordained a prophecy eons ago, when this creature was born. They**  
**said that whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails to fire would have the ****power to destroy the gods."**

**"MMMMMM!"**

**"Um," Grover said. "Maybe we could avoid talking about entrails, too."**

**Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. "The power to destroy the gods... how? I mean, ****what would happen?"**

**"No one knows," Zoe said. "The first time, during the Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was in fact slain by a giant ally of the Titans, but thy father, Zeus, sent an eagle to snatch the ****entrails away before they could be tossed into the fire. It was a close call. Now, after ****three thousand years, the Ophiotaurus is reborn."**

**Thalia sat down on the dock. She stretched out her hand. Bessie went right to her. Thalia ****placed her hand on his head. Bessie shivered.**

**Thalia's expression bothered me. She almost looked... hungry.**

Everyone turned their attention to Thalia, after five or ten minutes of them staring at her, she yelled. "JUST READ!"**  
**

**"We have to protect him," I told her. "If Luke gets hold of him-"**

**"Luke wouldn't hesitate," Thalia muttered. "The power to overthrow Olympus. That's... that's ****huge."**

**"Yes, it is, my dear," said a man's voice in a heavy French accent. "And it is a power you ****shall unleash."**

Nico's eyes widened, realizing who this was and pulled Percy into his lap to make sure he was still alive and well and had his arms firmly around his waist.

Percy then blushed and said, "Nico, I'm perfectly fine." And the only response he got from Nico was, him tightening his grip on Percy's waist and saying, "That's besides the point."

Percy just sighed, while everyone else was silently laughing at him and rolling their eyes.**  
**

**The Ophiotaurus made a whimpering sound and submerged.**

**I looked up. We'd been so busy talking, we'd allowed ourselves to be ambushed.**

**Standing behind us, his two-color eyes gleaming wickedly, was Dr. Thorn, the manticore ****himself.**

**"This is just pairrr-fect," the manticore gloated.**

Nico started to bite his lip, while Poseidon looked at his son, worried.**  
**

**He was wearing a ratty black trench coat over his Westover Hall uniform, which was torn and ****stained. His military haircut had grown out spiky and greasy. He hadn't shaved recently, so ****his face was covered in silver stubble. Basically he didn't look much better than the guys ****down at the soup kitchen.**

**"Long ago, the gods banished me to Persia," the manticore said. "I was forced to scrounge ****for food on the edges of the world, hiding in forests, devouring insignificant human ****farmers for my meals. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired ****in the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honor me, and I shall feast ****on the flesh of half-bloods!"**

**On either side of him stood two armed security guys, some of the mortal mercenaries I'd ****seen in D.C. Two more stood on the next boat dock over, just in case we tried to escape ****that way. There were tourists all around-walking down the waterfront, shopping at the pier ****above us-but I knew that wouldn't stop the manticore from acting.**

**"Where... where are the skeletons?" I asked the manticore.**

**He sneered. "I do not need those foolish undead! The General thinks I am worthless? He will ****change his mind when I defeat you myself!"**

"Like that'll happen," Thalia muttered.**  
**

**I needed time to think. I had to save Bessie. I could dive into the sea, but how could I ****make a quick getaway with a five-hundred-pound cow serpent? And what about my friends?**

**"We beat you once before," I said.**

**"Ha! You could barely fight me with a goddess on your side. And, alas... that goddess is ****preoccupied at the moment. There will be no help for you now."**

**Zoe notched an arrow and aimed it straight at the manticore's head. The guards on either ****side of us raised their guns.**

**"Wait!" I said. "Zoe, don't!"**

**The manticore smiled. "The boy is right, Zoe Nightshade. Put away your bow. It would be a ****shame to kill you before you witnessed Thalia's great victory."**

**"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She had her shield and spear ready.**

**"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos ****brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails ****to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth**  
**birthday, you will overthrow Olympus."**

**No one spoke. It made terrible sense. Thalia was only two days away from turning sixteen.**

**She was a child of the Big Three. And here was a choice, a terrible choice that could mean ****the end of the gods. It was just like the prophecy said. I wasn't sure if I felt relieved, ****horrified, or disappointed. I wasn't the prophecy kid after all. Doomsday was happening right now.**

"Thank the gods, I wasn't the one in the prophecy" Thalia said quietly, so only the demigods could hear.**  
**

"Yeah lucky you," Percy muttered.

**I waited for Thalia to tell the manticore off, but she hesitated. She looked completely ****stunned.**

**"You know it is the right choice," the manticore told her. "Your friend Luke recognized it.**

**You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of ****the Titans. Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you. And now you shall ****gain power over him. Crush the Olympians underfoot, as they deserve. Call the beast! It ****will come to you. Use your spear."**

**"Thalia," I said, "snap out of it!"**

**She looked at me the same way she had the morning she woke up on Half-Blood Hill, dazed and ****uncertain. It was almost like she didn't know me. "I... I don't-"**

**"Your father helped you," I said. "He sent the metal angels. He turned you into a tree to ****preserve you."**

**Her hand tightened on the shaft of her spear.**

**I looked at Grover desperately. Thank the gods, he understood what I needed. He raised his ****pipes to his mouth and played a quick riff.**  
**The manticore yelled, "Stop him!"**

**The guards had been targeting Zoe, and before they could figure out that the kid with the ****pipes was the bigger problem, the wooden planks at their feet sprouted new branches and ****tangled their legs. Zoe let loose two quick arrows that exploded at their feet in clouds of**  
**sulfurous yellow smoke. Fart arrows!**

**The guards started coughing. The manticore shot spines in our direction, but they ****ricocheted off my lion's coat.**

**"Grover," I said, "tell Bessie to dive deep and stay down!"**

**"Moooooo!" Grover translated. I could only hope that Bessie got the message.**

**"The cow..." Thalia muttered, still in a daze.**

**"Come on!" I pulled her along as we ran up the stairs to the shopping center on the pier. ****We dashed around the corner of the nearest store. I heard the manticore shouting at his ****minions, "Get them!" Tourists screamed as the guards shot blindly into the air.**

**We scrambled to the end of the pier. We hid behind a little kiosk filled with souvenir ****crystals-wind chimes and dream catchers and stuff like that, glittering in the sunlight. **

**There was a water fountain next to us. Down below, a bunch of sea lions were sunning ****themselves on the rocks. The whole of San Francisco Bay spread out before us: the Golden ****Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and the green hills and fog beyond that to the north. A ****picture-perfect moment, except for the fact that we were about to die and the world was ****going to end.**

**"Go over the side!" Zoe told me. "You can escape in the sea, Percy. Call on thy father for ****help. Maybe you can save the Ophiotaurus."**

"He won't," Nico, Annabeth, Thalia, and Rachel said all together.**  
**

**She was right, but I couldn't do it.**

**"I won't leave you guys," I said. "We fight together."**

**"You have to get word to camp!" Grover said. "At least let them know what's going on!"**

**Then I noticed the crystals making rainbows in the sunlight. There was a drinking fountain ****next to me...**

**"Get word to camp," I muttered. "Good idea."**

**I uncapped Riptide and slashed off the top of the water fountain. Water burst out of the ****busted pipe and sprayed all over us.**

**Thalia gasped as the water hit her. The fog seemed to clear from her eyes. "Are you crazy?" ****she asked.**

"Yes," Thalia, Rachel, and Annabeth muttered. They all earned glares from Percy, Nico and Poseidon

**But Grover understood. He was already fishing around in his pockets for a coin. He threw a ****golden drachma into the rainbows created by the mist and yelled, "O goddess, accept my ****offering!"**

**The mist rippled.**

**"Camp Half-Blood!" I said.**

**And there, shimmering in the Mist right next to us, was the last person I wanted to see: ****Mr. D, wearing his leopard-skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator. ****He looked up lazily. "Do you mind?"**

"You're so dead," Rachel commented.**  
**

**"Where's Chiron!" I shouted.**

**"How rude." Mr. D took a swig from a jug of grape juice. "Is that how you say hello?"**

**"Hello," I amended. "We're about to die! Where's Chiron?"**

**Mr. D considered that. I wanted to scream at him to hurry up, but I knew that wouldn't ****work. Behind us, footsteps and shouting-the manticore's troops were closing in.**

**"About to die," Mr. D mused. "How exciting. I'm afraid Chiron isn't here. Would you like me ****to take a message?"**

"Dionysus," Poseidon said dangerously and with a glare directed at him, making Dionysus sinking into his throne.**  
**

**I looked at my friends. "We're dead."**

**Thalia gripped her spear. She looked like her old angry self again. "Then we'll die ****fighting."**

**"How noble," Mr. D said, stifling a yawn. "So what is the problem, exactly?"**

**I didn't see that it would make any difference, but I told him about the Ophiotaurus.**

**"Mmm." He studied the contents of the fridge. "So that's it. I see."**

**"You don't even care!" I screamed. "You'd just as soon watch us die!"**

**"Let's see. I think I'm in the mood for pizza tonight."**

**I wanted to slash through the rainbow and disconnect, but I didn't have time. The manticore ****screamed, "There!" And we were surrounded. Two of the guards stood behind him. The other ****two appeared on the roofs of the pier shops above us. The manticore threw off his coat and ****transformed into his true self, his lion claws extended and his spiky tail bristling with ****poison barbs.**

**"Excellent," he said. He glanced at the apparition in the mist and snorted. "Alone, without ****any real help. Wonderful."**

**"You could ask for help," Mr. D murmured to me, as if this were an amusing thought. "You ****could say please."**

**When wild boars fly, I thought. **

Then suddenly all the demigods busted up laughing, remembering that flying boar(pig). After about 15 minutes they calmed and told Hermes to continue and it would explain later in the series.**  
**

**There was no way I was going to die begging a slob like Mr. ****D, just so he could laugh as we all got gunned down.**

**Zoe readied her arrows. Grover lifted his pipes. Thalia raised her shield, and I noticed a ****tear running down her cheek. Suddenly it occurred to me: this had happened to her before.**

**She had been cornered on Half-Blood Hill. She'd willingly given her life for her friends.**

**But this time, she couldn't save us.**

**How could I let that happen to her?**

**"Please, Mr. D," I muttered. "Help."**

Annabeth, Nico, and Rachel just looked at Percy open mouthed, shocked. "Y-you said please... to a god."

**Of course, nothing happened.**

**The manticore grinned. "Spare the daughter of Zeus. She will join us soon enough. Kill the ****others."**

**The men raised their guns, and something strange happened. You know how you feel when all ****the blood rushes to your head, like if you hang upside down and turn right-side up too ****quickly? There was a rush like that all around me, and a sound like a huge sigh. The**  
**sunlight tinged with purple. I smelled grapes and something more sour-wine.**

The gods and goddesses looked shocked that Dionysus actually helped them. After a few minutes, Hermes decided to continue.**  
**

**SNAP!**

**It was the sound of many minds breaking at the same time. The sound of madness. One guard ****put his pistol between his teeth like it was a bone and ran around on all fours. Two others ****dropped their guns and started waltzing with each other. The fourth began doing what looked ****like an Irish clogging dance. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so terrifying.**

**"No!" screamed the manticore. "I will deal with you myself!"**

**His tail bristled, but the planks under his paws erupted into grape vines, which ****immediately began wrapping around the monster's body, sprouting new leaves and clusters of ****green baby grapes that ripened in seconds as the manticore shrieked, until he was engulfed**  
**in a huge mass of vines, leaves, and full clusters of purple grapes. Finally the grapes ****stopped shivering, and I had a feeling that somewhere inside there, the manticore was no ****more.**

**"Well," said Dionysus, closing his refrigerator. "That was fun."**

**I stared at him, horrified. "How could you... How did you-"**

**"Such gratitude," he muttered. "The mortals will come out of it. Too much explaining to do ****if I made their condition permanent. I hate writing reports to Father."**

**He stared resentfully at Thalia. "I hope you learned your lesson, girl. It isn't easy to ****resist power, is it?"**

**Thalia blushed as if she were ashamed.**

**"Mr. D," Grover said in amazement. "You... you saved us.**

**"Mmm. Don't make me regret it, satyr. Now get going, Percy Jackson. I've bought you a few ****hours at most."**

Everyone looked dumbstruck, and Hermes commented. "You got his name right." Dionysus just replied, "Of course not Peter Johnson."**  
**

**"The Ophiotaurus," I said. "Can you get it to camp?"**

**Mr. D sniffed. "I do not transport livestock. That's your problem."**

**"But where do we go?"**

**Dionysus looked at Zoe. "Oh, I think the huntress knows. You must enter at sunset today, ****you know, or all is lost. Now good-bye. My pizza is waiting."**

Artemis' face paled, upon realizing where she had to return.**  
**

**"Mr. D," I said.**

**He raised his eyebrow.**

**"You called me by my right name," I said. "You called me Percy Jackson."**

**"I most certainly did not, Peter Johnson. Now off with you!"**

**He waved his hand, and his image disappeared in the mist.**

**All around us, the manticore's minions were still acting completely nuts. One of them had ****found our friend the homeless guy, and they were having a serious conversation about metal ****angels from Mars. Several other guards were harassing the tourists, making animal noises**  
**and trying to steal their shoes. **

**I looked at Zoe. "What did he mean... 'You know where to go'?"**

**Her face was the color of the fog. She pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate. In the ****distance, a single mountain rose up above the cloud layer.**

**"The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home."**

"That's the end of the chapter." Hermes informed.**  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**_AN: I want to make a point here. This is called fanfiction for a reason. I know Nico and Percy aren't really together, I like the pairing because I think they're really cute and adorable together. I don't know how people will agree with me here, but if you don't like the story don't read it. Sorry, but it has in the summary that this is a slash of Percy and Nico and it annoys me that they don't bother to read what it's about.  
_**

**_And thank you all for the reviews, it really uplifts my spirit that some people actually like this story. Cause at some points I really think why do I need to continue this if nobody likes it. I will be continuing this and hopefully it will go all the way to the MoA.(Though a little alternated to make this pairing work.)And a lot of times when I don't feel like updating and I see reviews, it makes me want to update._**

**_Also, PM me on how you'd think they got together. I've got some ideas, but I need some more and I'll choose the best one that I like. At least make it they got together in the BotL or tLO. And once I found the one I liked, I'll reveal it in whatever book is chosen. When you do PM me, but it in detail. Can't wait to see what you got._**

**_~NicoDiAngeloLover7  
_**

* * *

"Who's reading next?" Hermes asked. Holding the book up in the air.

"I guess I will," Zeus grumbled.

**"We Meet The Dragon Of Eternal Bad Breath,"** Zeus read.

**"We will never make it," Zoe said. "We are moving too slow. But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus."**

"That would be best," Demeter muttered.

**"Mooo," Bessie said. He swam next to me as we jogged along the waterfront. We'd left the ****shopping center pier far behind. We were heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was ****a lot farther than I'd realized. The sun was already dipping in the west.**

**"I don't get it," I said. "Why do we have to get there at sunset?"**

Thalia and Annabeth rolled their, muttering "Seaweed Brain."

Earning a glare from him.**  
**

**"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Zoe said. "We can only enter their garden as ****day changes to night."**

**"What happens if we miss it?"**

**"Tomorrow is winter solstice. If we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until ****tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady Artemis ****tonight."**

**Or Annabeth will be dead, I thought, but I didn't say that.**

Annabeth glanced at her mom, and noticed a worried look on her face.

**"We need a car," Thalia said.**

**"But what about Bessie?" I asked.**

**Grover stopped in his tracks. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different ****bodies of water, right?"**

**"Well, yeah," I said. "I mean, he was in Long Island Sound. Then he just popped into the ****water at Hoover Dam. And now he's here."**

**"So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound," Grover said. "Then Chiron could ****help us get him to Olympus."**

**"But he was following me" I said. "If I'm not there, would he know where he's going?"**

**"Moo," Bessie said forlornly.**

**"I... I can show him," Grover said. "I'll go with him."**

**I stared at him. Grover was no fan of the water. He'd almost drowned last summer in the Sea ****of Monsters, and he couldn't swim very well with his goat hooves.**

"Serves him right," Zeus grumbled. Earning glares from the demigods and Olympians.**  
**

**"I'm the only one who can talk to him," Grover said. "It makes sense."**

**He bent down and said something in Bessie's ear. Bessie shivered, then made a contented, ****lowing sound.**

**"The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage. Percy, pray ****to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."**

"That requires a sacrifice," Athena murmured.**  
**

**I didn't understand how they could possibly swim back to Long Island from California. Then ****again, monsters didn't travel the same way as humans. I'd seen plenty evidence of that.**

**I tried to concentrate on the waves, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the tide.**

**"Dad," I said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at ****sea."**

**"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," Thalia said. "Something big."**

**I thought for a second. Then I took off my coat.**

Artemis shifted her gaze at Percy at that statement.**  
**

**"Percy," Grover said. "Are you sure? That lion skin... that's really helpful. Hercules used ****it!"**

**As soon as he said that, I realized something.**

**I glanced at Zoe, who was watching me carefully. I realized I did know who Zoe's hero had ****been-the one who'd ruined her life, gotten her kicked out of her family, and never even ****mentioned how she'd helped him: Hercules, a hero I'd admired all my life.**

**"If I'm going to survive," I said, "it won't be because I've got a lion-skin cloak. I'm not ****Hercules."**

Artemis nodded approving, and commented, "Not bad for a male." **  
**

Which caused Percy to jump in surprise, not sure how to take that as a compliment from Artemis.

**I threw the coat into the bay. It turned back into a golden lion skin, flashing in the ****light. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into sunlight on ****the water.**

**The sea breeze picked up.**

**Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."**

**He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Bessie glided next to him and let ****Grover take hold of his neck.**

**"Be careful," I told them.**

**"We will," Grover said. "Okay, um... Bessie? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that ****way."**

**"Moooo?" Bessie said.**

**"Yes," Grover answered. "Long Island. It's this island. And... it's long. Oh, let's just ****start."**

**"Mooo!"**

**Bessie lurched forward. He started to submerge and Grover said, "I can't breathe ****underwater! Just thought I'd mention-" Glub!**

**Under they went, and I hoped my father's protection would extend to little things, like ****breathing.**

"It will," Poseidon commented.**  
**

**"Well, that is one problem addressed," Zoe said. "But how can we get to my sisters' ****garden?"**

**"Thalia's right," I said. "We need a car. But there's nobody to help us here. Unless we, ****uh, borrowed one."**

**I didn't like that option. I mean, sure this was a life-or-death situation, but still, it ****was stealing, and it was bound to get us noticed.**

**"Wait," Thalia said. She started rifling through her backpack. "There is somebody in San ****Francisco who can help us. I've got the address here somewhere."**

Annabeth and Athena looked at Thalia in curiosity.

**"Who?" I asked.**

**Thalia pulled out a crumpled piece of notebook paper and held it up. "Professor Chase. ****Annabeth's dad."**

Annabeth sighed, thinking. 'Well, at least we're on good terms now.'

**After hearing Annabeth gripe about her dad for two years, I was expecting him to have devil ****horns and fangs. I was not expecting him to be wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap and ****goggles. He looked so weird, with his eyes bugging out through the glasses, that we all ****took a step back on the front porch.**

Annabeth and Athena gave a chuckle at that.**  
**

**"Hello," he said in a friendly voice, "Are you delivering my airplanes?"**

**Thalia, Zoe, and I looked at each other warily.**

**"Um, no, sir," I said.**

**"Drat," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels."**

**"Right," I said, though I had no clue what he was talking about. "We're friends of ****Annabeth."**

**"Annabeth?" He straightened as if I'd just given him an electric shock. "Is she all right? Has something happened?"**

**None of us answered, but our faces must've told him that something was very wrong. He took ****off his cap and goggles. He had sandy-colored hair like Annabeth and intense brown eyes. He ****was handsome, I guess, for an older guy, but it looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of**  
**days, and his shirt was buttoned wrong, so one side of his collar stuck up higher than the ****other side.**

**"You'd better come in," he said.**

**It didn't look like a house they'd just moved into. There were LEGO robots on the stairs ****and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with ****magazines, and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled ****like fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. It ****seemed like a messy, happy kind of home-the kind of place that had been lived in forever.**

**"Dad!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!"**

**"Bobby," Dr. Chase called absently, "don't take apart your brother's robots."**

**"I'm Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!"**

**"Matthew," Dr. Chase called, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"**

**"Okay, Dad!"**

Annabeth shook her head. Her dad was never able to tell those two apart.**  
**

**Dr. Chase turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."**

**"Honey?" a woman called. Annabeth's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her hands ****on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun.**

**"Who are our guests?" she asked.**

**"Oh," Dr. Chase said. "This is..."**

**He stared at us blankly.**

**"Frederick," she chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"**

Hermes and Apollo snickered at that.**  
**

**We introduced ourselves a little uneasily, but Mrs. Chase seemed really nice. She asked if ****we were hungry. We admitted we were, and she told us she'd bring us some cookies and**** sandwiches and sodas.**

**"Dear," Dr. Chase said. "They came about Annabeth."**

**I half expected Mrs. Chase to turn into a raving lunatic at the mention of her ****stepdaughter, but she just pursed her lips and looked concerned. "All right. Go on up to ****the study and I'll bring you some food." She smiled at me. "Nice meeting you, Percy. I've**** heard a lot about you." **

**Upstairs, we walked into Dr. Chase's study and I said, "Whoa!"**

**The room was wall-to-wall books, but what really caught my attention were the war toys. ****There was a huge table with miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue painted ****river, with hills and fake trees and stuff. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the ****ceiling, tilted at crazy angles like they were in the middle of a dogfight.**

**Dr. Chase smiled. "Yes. The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the use**** of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than**** they've been given credit for."**

**He plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane ****engine noises as he knocked down little German soldiers.**

**"Oh, right," I said. I knew Annabeth's dad was a professor of military history. She'd never**** mentioned he played with toy soldiers.**

**Zoe came over and studied the battlefield. "The German lines were farther from the river." ****Dr. Chase stared at her. "How do you know that?"**

**"I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was,**** the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete ****waste."**

"Men," Artemis and Thalia said.**  
**

**Dr. Chase opened his mouth in shock. "You-"**

**"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia said. "But that's not why we're here. We need-"**

**"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said. "How many were there? What formations did ****they fly?"**

**"Sir," Thalia broke in again. "Annabeth is in danger."**

**That got his attention. He set the biplane down.**

**"Of course," he said. "Tell me everything."**

**It wasn't easy, but we tried. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. We were ****running out of time.**

**When we'd finished, Dr. Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands. "My ****poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry."**

**"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoe said. "And we need it immediately."**

**"I'll drive you. Hmm. it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."**

**"Whoa, you have an actual biplane?" I said.**

**"Down at Crissy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here. My ****sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world. He**** let me restore the Sopwith Camel-"**

**"Sir," Thalia said. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without**** you. It's too dangerous."  
**

**Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably. "Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my daughter.**** Dangerous or not, I... I can't just-"**

**"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-**** butter-and-jelly sandwiches and Cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven, the chocolate**** chips still gooey. Thalia and I inhaled a few cookies while Zoe said, "I can drive, sir.**

**I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car."**

"And look how well that turned out," Thalia and Percy muttered. Their eyes widen at saying the same thing.

Making Nico snicker at both of them, which Percy pouted at causing the Olympians to laugh at his expression when Nico turned away from him, knowing he wouldn't be able to look him in the eyes without giving in.**  
**

**Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. "What's this about?"**

**"Annabeth is in danger," Dr. Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but... apparently ****it's no place for mortals."**

**It sounded like it was really hard for him to get that last part out.**

**I waited for Mrs. Chase to say no. I mean, what mortal parent would allow three underage ****teenagers to borrow their car? To my surprise, Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then they'd better get ****going."**

**"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys..."**

**His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside**** your aviator hat. The keys are hanging on the peg by the front door."**

**"Right!" Dr. Chase said.**

**Zoe grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. Now"**

**We hustled out the door and down the stairs, the Chases right behind us.**

**"Percy," Mrs. Chase called as I was leaving, "tell Annabeth... Tell her she still has a home**** here, will you? Remind her of that."**

**I took one last look at the messy living room, Annabeth's half brothers spilling LEGOs and**** arguing, the smell of cookies filling the air. Not a bad place, I thought.**

**"I'll tell her," I promised.**

**We ran out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. The sun was going down. I**** figured we had less than an hour to save Annabeth.**

**"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded. Zoe glared at her. "I cannot control ****traffic."**

**"You both sound like my mother," I said. "Shut up!" they said in unison.**

Everyone laughed at that when Thalia commented, "I'm pretty sure that's a good thing."

Which she got a glare from Percy.**  
**

**Zoe weaved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was sinking on the**** horizon when we finally got into Marin County and exited the highway.**

**The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and ****around the edges of steep ravines. Zoe didn't slow down at all.**

**"Why does everything smell like cough drops?" I asked.**

**"Eucalyptus." Zoe pointed to the huge trees all around us.**

**"The stuff koala bears eat?"**

**"And monsters," she said. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."**

**"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?"**

**"Believe me," Zoe said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too."**

**I didn't question her, but I did keep my eyes peeled more closely as we drove. Ahead of us**** loomed Mount Tamalpais. I guess, in terms of mountains, it was a small one, but it looked**** plenty huge as we were driving toward it.**

**"So that's the Mountain of Despair?" I asked.**

**"Yes," Zoe said tightly.**

**"Why do they call it that?"**

**She was silent for almost a mile before answering. "After the war between the Titans and ****the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and**** thrown into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up**** there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."**

**"The General," I said. Clouds seemed to be swirling around its peak, as though the mountain**** was drawing them in, spinning them like a top. "What's going on up there? A storm?"**

**Zoe didn't answer. I got the feeling she knew exactly what the clouds meant, and she didn't ****like it.**

**"We have to concentrate," Thalia said. "The Mist is really strong here."**

**"The magical kind or the natural kind?" I asked.**

**"Both."**

**The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and we kept driving straight toward**** them. We were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks**** and fog.**

**I happened to glance down at the ocean as we passed a scenic curve, and I saw something ****that made me jump out of my seat.**

**"Look!" But we turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.**

**"What?" Thalia asked.**

**"A big white ship," I said. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship."**

Percy looked down at his feet remembering what happened to Beckendorf.

Nico noticing this, knew he still blamed himself for what happened. Pulled him into a kiss, knowing that it was one of the things that would distract him from feeling guilty.

After about five minutes and they broke apart. Percy then leaned on Nico's shoulder and whispered thanks, while giving him a smile. Which Nico returned and gave him a hug, letting him know he was there for him.

After all this happened they heard several aww's directed at the two of them. Which ultimately caused them to blush.**  
**

**Her eyes widened. "Luke's ship?"**

**I wanted to say I wasn't sure. It might be a coincidence. But I knew better. The Princess**** Andromeda, Luke's demon cruise ship, was docked at that beach. That's why he'd sent his ****ship all the way down to the Panama Canal. It was the only way to sail it from the East**** Coast to California.**

**"We will have company, then," Zoe said grimly. "Kronos's army."**

**I was about to answer, when suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Thalia**** shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!"**

**Zoe must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without question.**

**The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.**

**"Out!" Thalia opened the door and pushed me hard. We both rolled onto the pavement. The ****next second: BOOOM!**

**Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. I**** probably would've been killed by shrapnel except for Thalia's shield, which appeared over ****me. I heard a sound like metal ram, and when I opened my eyes, we were surrounded by**** wreckage. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was**** spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.**

**I swallowed the taste of smoke out of my mouth, and looked at Thalia. "You saved my life."**

**"One shall perish by a parent's hand" she muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me? Me?"**

Zeus' eyes widened, not know what to say to his daughter.

Demeter than said, "There's no way Zeus would do that. You should have seen him when you were turned into a tree. He was heartbroken that he lost his daughter that day."

Thalia looked at her father saw pain on his face and she knew he was remembering when he had to turn her into a tree. And smiled at her dad, which was returned.**  
**

**It took me a second to realize she was talking about her dad. "Oh, hey, that couldn't have**** been Zeus's lightning bolt. No way."**

**"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded.**

**"I don't know. Zoe said Kronos's name. Maybe he-"**

**Thalia shook her head, looking angry and stunned. "No. That wasn't it."**

**"Wait," I said. "Where's Zoe? Zoe!"**

**We both got up and ran around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing either direction down**** the road. I looked down the cliff. No sign of her.**

**"Zoe!" I shouted.**

**Then she was standing right next to me, pulling me by my arm. "Silence, fool! Do you want**** to wake Ladon?"**

**"You mean we're here?"**

**"Very close," she said. "Follow me."**

**Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoe stepped into one of them, and when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia and I looked at each other.**

**"Concentrate on Zoe," Thalia advised. "We are following her. Go straight into the fog and**** keep that in mind."**

**"Wait, Thalia. About what happened back on the pier... I mean, with the manticore and the ****sacrifice-"**

**"I don't want to talk about it."**

**"You wouldn't actually have... you know?"**

**She hesitated. "I was just shocked. That's all."**

**"Zeus didn't send that lighting bolt at the car. It was Kronos. He's trying to manipulate**** you, make you angry at your dad."**

**She took a deep breath. "Percy, I know you're trying to make me feel better. Thanks. But**** come on. We need to go."**

**She stepped into the fog, into the Mist, and I followed.**

**When the fog cleared, I was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The**** grass was thicker. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the**** mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one**** path to the top, directly in front of us. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and**** flowers: the garden of twilight, just like I'd seen in my dream.**

**If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful**** place I'd ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were**** such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black ****marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with ****golden apples, and I don't mean yellow golden apples like in the grocery store. I mean real**** golden apples. I can't describe why they were so appealing, but as soon as I smelled their**** fragrance, I knew that one bite would be the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted.**

**"The apples of immortality," Thalia said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."**

**I wanted to step right up and pluck one, except for the dragon coiled around the tree.**

"Smart move, Seaweed Brain," commented Annabeth and Thalia.

Which earned an eye roll at them.**  
**

**Now, I don't know what you think of when I say dragon. Whatever it is, it's not scary**** enough. The serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales.**

**He had more heads than I could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused ****together. He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on**** the grass, all the eyes closed.**

**Then the shadows in front of us began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing, like**** voices from the bottom of a well. I reached for Riptide, but Zoe stopped my hand.**

**Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoe. They**** all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose**** around their shoulders. It was strange, but I'd never realized how beautiful Zoe was until ****I saw her siblings, the Hesperides. They looked just like Zoe-gorgeous, and probably very ****dangerous.**

**"Sisters," Zoe said.**

**"We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see two half-bloods and a**** Hunter. All of whom shall soon die."**

**"You've got it wrong." I stepped forward. "Nobody is going to die."**

**The girls studied me. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black.**

**"Perseus Jackson," one of them said.**

**"Yes," mused another. "I do not see why he is a threat."**

**"Who said I was a threat?"**

**The first Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. "They fear thee.**

**They are unhappy that this one has not yet killed thee."**

**She pointed at Thalia.**

**"Tempting sometimes," Thalia admitted. "But no, thanks. He's my friend."**

**"There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back."**

**"Not without Annabeth," Thalia said.**

**"And Artemis," Zoe said. "We must approach the mountain."**

**"You know he will kill thee," the girl said. "You are no match for him."**

Artemis looked at Thalia, who nodded sadly.**  
**

**"Artemis must be freed," Zoe insisted. "Let us pass."**

**The girl shook her head. "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices ****and Ladon will wake."**

**"He will not hurt me," Zoe said.**

**"No? And what about thy so-called friends?"**

**Then Zoe did the last thing I expected. She shouted, "Ladon! Wake!"**

**The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and ****scattered. The lead girl said to Zoe, "Are you mad?"**

**"You never had any courage, sister," Zoe said. "That is thy problem."**

**The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and**** tasting the air. Zoe took a step forward, her arms raised.**

**"Zoe, don't," Thalia said. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you."**

**"Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoe said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go**** up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee."**

**"Should," I said. "Not exactly reassuring."**

**"It is the only way," she said. "Even the three of us together cannot fight him."**

**Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down my ****back, and that was before his breath hit me. The smell was like acid. It made my eyes burn,**** my skin crawl, and my hair stand on end. I remembered the time a rat had died inside our**** apartment wall in New York in the middle of the summer. This stench was like that, except a**** hundred times stronger, and mixed with the smell of chewed eucalyptus. I promised myself ****right then that I would never ask a school nurse for another cough drop.**

**I wanted to draw my sword. But then I remembered my dream of Zoe and Hercules, and how ****Hercules had failed in a head-on assault. I decided to trust Zoe's judgment.**

"Wise choice," Athena commented.**  
**

**Thalia went left. I went right. Zoe walked straight toward the monster.**

**"It's me, my little dragon," Zoe said. "Zoe has come back."**

**Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing. Dragon**** confusion. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice of the**** eldest whispered, "Fool."**

**"I used to feed thee by hand," Zoe continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she stepped**** toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?"**

**The dragon's eyes glinted.**

**Thalia and I were about halfway around the garden. Ahead, I could see a single rocky trail**** leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirled above it, spinning on the**** summit like it was the axis for the whole world.**

**We'd almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. I felt the dragon's mood ****shift. Maybe Zoe got too close. Maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. Whatever the reason, he lunged ****at Zoe.**

**Two thousand years of training kept her alive. She dodged one set of slashing fangs and ****tumbled under another, weaving through the dragon's heads as she ran in our direction, ****gagging from the monster's horrible breath.**

**I drew Riptide to help.**

**"No!" Zoe panted. "Run!"**

**The dragon snapped at her side, and Zoe cried out. **

Artemis eyes widened in realization.**  
**

**Thalia uncovered Aegis, and the dragon**** hissed. In his moment of indecision, Zoe sprinted past us up the mountain, and we followed. ****The dragon didn't try to pursue. He hissed and stomped the ground, but I guess he was well ****trained to guard that tree. He wasn't going to be lured off even by the tasty prospect of**** eating some heroes.**

**We ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind us. The**** music didn't sound so beautiful to me now-more like the sound track for a funeral.**

**At the top of mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses.**** Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted.**

**"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe.**

**"Yes," Zoe said. "It was not here before. This is bad."**

**"What's Mount Othrys?" I asked, feeling like a fool as usual.**

"Like always," Thalia muttered. Which earned her a glare.**  
**

**"The mountain fortress of the Titans," Zoe said. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were**** the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was-" She winced and held her side.**

Artemis bit her lip, worried about Zoe.**  
**

**"You're hurt," I said. "Let me see."**

**"No! It is nothing. I was saying... in the first war, Othrys was blasted to pieces."**

**"But... how is it here?"**

**Thalia looked around cautiously as we picked our way through the rubble, past blocks of**** marble and broken archways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists**** on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on this mountain, is not good."**

**"Why?"**

**"This is Atlas's mountain," Zoe said. "Where he holds-" She froze. Her voice was ragged**** with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."**

"That's not good at all," the gods muttered.**  
**

**We had reached the summit. A few yards ahead of us, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, ****making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the ****shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, ****her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains. This is what I had seen in my**** dream. It hadn't been a cavern roof that Artemis was forced to hold. It was the roof of the ****world.**

**"My lady!" Zoe rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."**** Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. I had never seen a goddess in pain ****before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.**

**Zoe was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests, and tugged at the chains.**** A booming voice spoke behind us: "Ah, how touching."**

**We turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side were Luke and**** half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Annabeth stood at Luke's**** side. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and Luke was holding ****the point of his sword to her throat.**

**I met her eyes, trying to ask her a thousand questions. There was just one message she was**** sending me, though: RUN.**

**"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go."**

**Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C.**

**"That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."**

**Thalia spat at him.**

**The General chuckled. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoe. It's been a long time. How is**** my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."**

**"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."**

**"Wait a second," I said. "You're Atlas?"**

**The General glanced at me. "So, even the stupidest of heroes can finally figure something ****out. Yes, I am Atlas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods. Congratulations. I**** will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl."**

**"You're not going to hurt Zoe" I said. "I won't let you."**

**The General sneered. "You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family ****matter." I frowned. "A family matter?"**

**"Yes," Zoe said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."**

"Done, who's reading next," Zeus asked.**  
**

"I will," Hestia said.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: I wanted to repeat this question. I want everyone's opinion on how Nico and Percy would get together. It has to be in the Battle of the Labyrinth. I need details about it. _"SincerelyYourSecret"_ has already given me an idea that I love and am going for, but I will change it if anyone has a better idea. Either put your idea in a review or PM it to me. I do need details about though.  
**

* * *

**"I Put On A Few Million Extra Pounds," **Hestia read

"Please tell me you didn't Percy," Nico pleaded.

Percy didn't answer, which caused Nico to bite his lip nervously, before reminding himself he was right here and alive.

While Poseidon groaned and paled, his son was never going to stop getting into trouble and avoiding near death experiences.

**The horrible thing was: I could see the family resemblance. **

**Atlas had the same regal expression as Zoe, the same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoe sometimes got when she was mad, though on him it looked a thousand times more evil. He was all the things I'd originally disliked about Zoe, with none of the good I'd come to appreciate.**

**"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded.**

**Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."**

**Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoe! I forbid you."**

"Wow, each one of Artemis hunter's dedication is … " Nico said.

"Unbelievable?" Thalia suggested.

"Yes," Nico replied. "They would actually hold up the sky if it meant saving you, Lady Artemis."

"When did you get … so deep?" Percy asked Nico.

"Since I meet you" Nico said. Making Percy's face to turn scarlet red.

Which caused the females to coo at him.

**Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers.**

"Percy, you realize since Atlas is a Titan and immortal right," Annabeth said.

"Well, you know that I'm no child of Athena, and it's not like your mother is going to bless me soon." Percy replied, his arms folded across his chest.

Which caused Athena to smirk and the everyone to chuckle, knowing it was true.

**"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."**

**I looked at Annabeth. She was desperately trying to tell me something. She motioned her head toward Luke. But all I could do was stare at her. I hadn't noticed before, but something about her had changed. Her blond hair was now streaked with gray.**

**"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered, as if she'd read my mind. "The weight should've killed her."**

**"I don't understand," I said. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"**

Everyone rolled their eyes and muttered, "Typical Seaweed Brain."

**Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you."**

**He approached us, studying Thalia and me. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."**

**"Fight us," I said. "And let's see."**

"I swear Percy, some day your boldness will get you killed," Annabeth, Thalia, and Nico said.

Percy just shrugged his shoulders, while getting a glare from Nico.

**"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly. It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."**

**"So you're another coward," I said.**

**Atlas's eyes glowed with hatred. With difficulty, he turned his attention to Thalia. "As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."**

**"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. **

Hermes looked down at his feet.**  
**

**If I didn't hate his guts so much, I almost would've felt sorry for him. **

**"Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"**

**He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. I could imagine Bessie in that pool. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I was sure I could hear Bessie mooing.**

_**Don't think about him**_**! Suddenly Grover's voice was inside my mind—the empathy link. I could feel his emotions. He was on the verge of panic. **_**I'm losing Bessie. Block the thoughts**_**!**

**I tried to make my mind go blank. I tried to think about basketball players, skateboards, the different kinds of candy in my mom's shop. Anything but Bessie.**

**"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."**

**"Luke..." Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"**

"They've been feeding him so many lies," Annabeth and Thalia said sadly, with their heads hanging down.

**"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"**

**Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."**

**"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree ..."**

**His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."**

**I didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. I believed that Luke was in danger.**

**His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And I was afraid Thalia might believe it too.**

**"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned. "We must fight them."**

**Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame.**

**"Thalia," I said. "No."**

**Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, I saw images in the mist all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.**

**"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."**

**He pointed toward the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the **_**Princess Andromeda **_**was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things I couldn't even name. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, many more than I'd seen on board last summer. And they were marching toward us. In a few minutes, they would be here.**

**"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."**

"Like Hades you will," Zeus muttered. Earning a glare and rant about using his name in a curse, from Hades.**  
**

**For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."**

"**Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me … don't make **_**him **_**destroy you."**

**There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. I met Annabeth's eyes again. She nodded.**

**I looked at Thalia and Zoe, and I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this.**

"**Now," I said.**

**Together, we charged.**

**Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragon- women bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. **

**But despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.**

**As for me, I did the stupidest thing in my life, which is saying a lot. I attacked the Titan Lord Atlas.**

Nico sighed and said, "Is there a time where you're not in danger."

Percy smiled sheepishly, making Nico and Poseidon groan.

Percy then glanced at his father and saw that his face was getting paler, while clutching his throne tightly.

**He laughed as I approached. A huge javelin appeared in his hands. His silk suit melted into full Greek battle armor. "Go on, then!" **

**"Percy!" Zoe said. "Beware!"**

**I knew what she was warning me about. Chiron had told me long ago: **_**Immortals are constrained by ancient rules. But a hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve**_**. Once I attacked, however, Atlas was free to attack back directly, with all his might.**

"You just had to challenge him didn't you, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, while shaking her head.

Earning a shrug.

**I swung my sword, and Atlas knocked me aside with the shaft of his javelin. I flew through the air and slammed into a black wall. It wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was rising, brick by brick. It was becoming real.**

**"Fool!" Atlas screamed gleefully, swatting aside one of Zoe's arrows. "Did you think, simply because you could challenge that petty war god, that you could stand up to **_**me**_**?"**

Ares huffed and glared at the book.

**The mention of Ares sent a jolt through me. I shook off my daze and charged again. If I could get to that pool of water, I could double my strength.**

"It might work, if Atlas doesn't realized what your planning," Athena said.

**The javelins point slashed toward me like a scythe. I raised Riptide, planning to cut off his weapon at the shaft, but my arm felt like lead. My sword suddenly weighed a ton.**

**And I remembered Ares's warning, spoken on the beach in Los Angeles so long ago: **_**When you need it most, your sword will fail you**_**.**

Ares earned two glares, making him slouch in his throne. One from Poseidon and another from Nico

_**Not now**_**! I pleaded. But it was no good. I tried to dodge, but the javelin caught me in the chest and sent me flying like a rag doll. I slammed into the ground, my head spinning. I looked up and found I was at the feet of Artemis, still straining under the weight of the sky.**

**"Run, boy," she told me. "You must run!"**

**Atlas was taking his time coming toward me. My sword was gone. It had skittered away over the edge of the cliff. It might reappear in my pocket—maybe in a few seconds—but it didn't matter. I'd be dead by then. **

**"Die, little hero," Atlas said.**

**He raised his javelin to impale me.**

Nico bit his lip nervously, while Poseidon had a panic look in his eyes, then slowly calmed when the next few lines were read.

**"No!" Zoe yelled, and a volley of silver arrows sprouted from the armpit chink in Atlas's armor.**

**"ARGH!" He bellowed and turned toward his daughter.**

**I reached down and felt Riptide back in my pocket. I couldn't fight Atlas, even with a sword. And then a chill went down my back. I remembered the words of the prophecy: **_**The Titan's curse must one withstand**_**. I couldn't hope to beat Atlas. But there was someone else who might stand a chance.**

**"The sky," I told the goddess. "Give it to me."**

Nico glared furiously at Percy and said, "Please tell me you didn't."

Percy shrinked down into his chair and then noticed that there wasn't anger in Nico's eyes, but fear and worry. Worried that he would die. Percy sat back up in his chair and cradled his head into his chest, knowing that Nico needed this comfort. While wondering how he was going to react at Hephaestus' forge, while traveling in the Labyrinth. And thought, 'Nico and my dad are going to have a heartattack in the next book.'

Everyone's attention was directed at Poseidon when they realized he turned into a puddle of water.

Zeus and Hades noticed their confusion and stated, "He'll turn back after he's not stressed."

The demigods nodded in understanding before Hestia continued.

**"No, boy," Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver. "You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!"**

**"Annabeth took it!"**

**"She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long." **

**"I'll die anyway," I said. "Give me the weight of the sky!"**

**I didn't wait for her answer. I took out Riptide and slashed through her chains. Then I stepped next to her and braced myself on one knee—holding up my hands—and touched the cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and I bore the weight together. It was the heaviest thing I'd ever felt, as if I were being crushed under a thousand trucks. I wanted to black out from the pain, but I breathed deeply. **_**I can do this**_**.**

**Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and I held it alone.**

**Afterward, I tried many times to explain what it felt like. I couldn't.**

Percy heard a whimpering sound from Nico, and looked at him shocked. Nico would never make that sound, so he knew that Nico was desperately scared that Percy would die. Percy then whispered lovingly, "I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry so much." Percy felt him nod his head and he pulled back to sit properly in Percy's lap, after muttering thanks.

**Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward me.**

_**Get ready**_**, she spoke in my mind. I was losing the ability to think through the pain. My response was something like **_**Agggghh-owwwwwwww**_**.**

Everyone gave a slight chuckle at that, since there was still tension in the room.

**"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me."**

**He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming. **

**Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip for the kill.**

**"No!" Zoe screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn. **

**Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks.**

**I wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but I couldn't speak or move. I couldn't even see where Zoe had landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.**

"Zoe …" Artemis, Thalia, and Percy said sadly.

**"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.**

**As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her, I saw him coming down on top of me and I realized what would happen. I loosened my grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into me I didn't try to hold on. I let myself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all I was worth.**

**The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.**

**"**_**Noooooo**_**!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "**_**Not again**_**!" **

**Atlas was trapped under his old burden. **

**Thalia backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.**

**He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat. For a moment, there was silence.**

**"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but I could hear fear in his voice.**

**Thalia trembled with fury.**

**Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"**

Hermes gave Annabeth a sad smile.**  
**

**"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"**

**In my daze, I realized that Artemis was no longer with me. She had run off toward the black rocks where Zoe had fallen.**

**"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He... he'll be useful."**

**"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"**

**Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.**

**"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.**

**"Luke!" Annabeth screamed.**

**We rushed to the cliff's edge. Below us, the army from the **_**Princess Andromeda **_**had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. Despite how much I hated him, I couldn't stand to see it. I wanted to believe he was still alive, but that was impossible. The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.**

"Not impossible, he did survive" the demigods muttered.

**One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"**

**Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. I pulled her back as a wave of javelins sailed over our heads. We ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas as we passed.**

**"Artemis!" I yelled.**

**The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's. Zoe lay in the goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still...**

**"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said. **

**"Atlas poisoned her?" I asked. **

Thalia face palmed.

**"No," the goddess said. "Not Atlas."**

**She showed us the wound in Zoe's side. I'd almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoe had let on. I could barely look at the wound. She had charged into battle against her father with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.**

**"The stars," Zoe murmured. "I cannot see them."**

**"Nectar and ambrosia," I said. "Come on! We have to get her some."**

**No one moved. Grief hung in air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir. We might've met our doom right there, but then I heard a strange buzzing noise.**

**Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of the sky.**

**"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering.**

**"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.**

"Your face was priceless," Percy said.

Which earned him a glare, but he'd seen worse from Nico and Hades.

**"Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.**

**This shook Artemis out of her grief. She stared up at the antique plane, which was now banking around for another strafe.**

**"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come, We must get Zoe away from here."**

Everyone raised their eyebrows at Artemis, but said nothing.

**She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of Marin. Zoe's eyes were fluttering.**

**The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins, and one flew straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine guns blazed. I realized with amazement that somehow Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze to fashion his bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into sulfurous yellow powder.**

**"That's... my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement.**

**We didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon.**

**Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer I had ever seen. It landed right next to us.**

**"Get in," Artemis said.**

**Annabeth helped me get Thalia on board. Then I helped Artemis with Zoe. We wrapped Zoe in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain, straight into the air.**

**"Like Santa Claus's sleigh," I murmured, still dazed with pain.**

**Artemis took time to look back at me. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you think that legend came from?"**

**Seeing us safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed us like an honor guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for the Bay Area: a silver flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel.**

**Behind us, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.**

"Who's next," Hestia asked.


	19. Chapter 19

"I will," said surprisingly Hera

**"A Friend Says Goodbye," **Hera read

**We landed at Crissy Field after nightfall.**

**As soon as Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Annabeth ran to him and gave him a huge hug. "Dad! You flew… you shot… oh my gods! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"**

That got some snickers out of it. Annabeth only talked about architecture like that.

Which everyone, but Athena got a glare from.

**Her father blushed. "Well, not bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose."**

**"But the celestial bronze bullets! How did you get those?"**

**"Ah, well. You did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virginia, the last time you… left."**

**Annabeth looked down, embarrassed. I noticed Dr. Chase was very careful not to say ran away.**

Annabeth smiled sheepishly.**  
**

**"I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," he continued. "Just a little experiment."**

**He said it like it was no big deal, but he had a gleam in his eye. I could understand all of a sudden why Athena, Goddess of Crafts and Wisdom, had taken a liking to him. He was an excellent mad scientist at heart.**

"That had better be a compliment Perseus," Athena said in a warning tone.

"I-It was Lady Athena," Percy said nervously.

Athena nodded in an approving manner.

Annabeth snickered at him, knowing Percy was a little nervous around her mother. That was one goddess you didn't want against you.

**"Dad…" Annabeth faltered.**

**"Annabeth, Percy," Thalia interrupted. Her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were kneeling at Zoe's side, binding the huntress's wounds.**

**Annabeth and I ran over to help, but there wasn't much we could do. We had no ambrosia or nectar. No regular medicine would help. It was dark, but I could see that Zoe didn't look good. She was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading.**

Everyone glanced over at Artemis, who was looking at the book sadly. Remembering Zoe, while silently grieving for her lost hunter.

While the demigods that were there, were remembering Zoe's last moments of her life.

**"Can't you heal her with magic?" I asked Artemis. "I mean… you're a goddess."**

"Life is fragile, but there is little I can do with the Fates have cut her life string," Artemis said sadly.

**Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."**

"No need to repeat yourself big sis," Apollo said. He was trying to get her mind of her hunter, so he said big sis instead of little.

Artemis was about to glare at him, but she heard him say big sis. She knew what he was trying to do, though he really could be a pain and very immature, she was glad. If only her brother could be a little more mature, but that just wasn't Apollo. And she gave him a small smile to everyone's surprise, since they thought there was going to be a fight between the twin archers.

**She tried to set her hand on Zoe's side, but Zoe gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them.**

"Each of my Hunters have an empathy link with me,," Artemis said.

**"Have I… served thee well?" Zoe whispered. "With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."**

Thalia looked down, she knew that she could never be the same as Zoe had for Artemis.

**Zoe's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."**

**"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."**

**But in that moment, I knew it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. It was her father's final blow. Zoe had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway. She had chosen to save me, and Atlas's fury had broken her inside.**

"Percy," Nico said softly. "It's not your fault."

"I know," Percy said giving him a sad smile.

Nico griped his hand, squeezing it comfortably.

**She saw Thalia, and took her hand.**

**"I am sorry we argued," Zoe said. "We could have been sisters."**

**"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke, about heroes, men—everything."**

**"Perhaps not all men," Zoe murmured. She smiled weakly at me. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?"**

**I couldn't speak, but I brought out Riptide and put the pen in her hand. She grasped it contentedly. "You spoke the truth, Percy Jackson. You are nothing like… like Hercules. I am honored that you carry this sword."**

"Zoe …" Percy said softly.

**A shudder ran through her body.**

**"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."**

**A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."**

**"Stars," Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.**

"She always loved the stars. There was never a day she wouldn't be watching them," Artemis said softly.

**Thalia lowered her head. Annabeth gulped down a sob, and her father put his hands on her shoulders. I watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoe's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoe's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoe's body shimmered and disappeared.**

**Artemis stood, said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand and released the silver dust to the sky. It flew up, sparkling, and vanished.**

"So that was how she because a star," Nico muttered softly.

Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia nodded.

**For a moment I didn't see anything different. Then Annabeth gasped. Looking up in the sky, I saw that the stars were brighter now. They made a pattern I had never noticed before—a gleaming constellation that looked a lot like a girl's figure—a girl with a bow, running across the sky.**

**"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars." It wasn't easy saying our good-byes. The thunder and lightning were still boiling over Mount Tamalpais in the north. Artemis was so upset she flickered with silver light. This made me nervous, because if she suddenly lost control and appeared in her fully divine form, we would disintegrate by looking at her.**

**"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you, but I will send help."**

**The goddess set her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You are brave beyond measure, my girl. You will do what is right."**

**Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes. I wasn't sure what passed between them, but Artemis's gaze softened with sympathy. Then she turned to me.**

"She gave me the option to join the Hunt," Thalia said.

**"You did well," she said. "For a man."**

**I wanted to protest. But then I realized it was the first time she hadn't called me a boy.**

Percy glanced over at Artemis, who nodded approving.

**She mounted her chariot, which began to glow. We averted our eyes. There was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.**

**"Well," Dr. Chase sighed. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."**

Athena and Annabeth gave a small smile at that.

**Annabeth turned toward him. "Dad, I… I'm sorry that—"**

**"Shh." He hugged her. "Do what you must, my dear. I know this isn't easy for you."**

**His voice was a little shaky, but he gave Annabeth a brave smile.**

**Then I heard the whoosh of large wings. Three pegasi descended through the fog: two white winged horses and one pure black one.**

**"Blackjack!" I called.**

**Yo, boss! he called. You manage to stay alive okay without me? "It was rough," I admitted.**

**I brought Guido and Porkpie with me.**

"How you came up with those names, I'll never know," Nico said.

"I didn't come up with them." Percy said, glancing at Aphrodite and then muttered quietly so only the demigods heard. "Silena did."

"She was a hero," Thalia said quietly.

Nico wasn't there at the time, but he heard the story from Clarisse, Percy, Thalia, Annabeth, Beckendorf, and Silena herself. She was indeed a hero. Nico nodded his head, much to the confusion of the Olympians.

**How ya doin? The other two pegasi spoke in my mind.**

**Blackjack looked me over with concern, then checked out Dr. Chase, Thalia, and Annabeth. Any of these goons you want us to stampede? **

Everyone chuckled at that.

**"Nah," I said aloud. "These are my friends. We need to get to Olympus pretty fast."**

**No problem, Blackjack said. Except for the mortal over there. Hope he's not going. I assured him Dr. Chase was not. The professor was staring openmouthed at the pegasi.**

**"Fascinating," he said. "Such maneuverability! How does the wingspan compensate for the weight of the horse's body, I wonder?"**

"You know, I have no idea what he's talking about!" Percy said.

"Your not a child of Athena. So of course you don't," Thalia said.

Which got a glare from Percy and an amused smile from Athena and Annabeth.

**"Why, if the British had had these pegasi in the cavalry charges on the Crimea," Dr. Chase said, "the charge of the light brigade—"**

**"Dad!" Annabeth interrupted.**

**Dr. Chase blinked. He looked at his daughter and managed a smile. "I'm sorry, my dear, I know you must go."**

**He gave her one last awkward, well-meaning hug. **

**As she turned to climb aboard the pegasus Guido, Dr. Chase called, "Annabeth. I know… I know San Francisco is a dangerous place for you. But please remember, you always have a home with us. We will keep you safe."**

**Annabeth didn't answer, but her eyes were red as she turned away. Dr. Chase started to say more, then apparently thought better of it. He raised his hand in a sad farewell and trudged away across the dark field.**

**Thalia and Annabeth and I mounted our pegasi. Together we soared over the bay and flew toward the eastern hills. Soon San Francisco was only a glittering crescent behind us, with an occasional flicker of lightning in the north.**

**Thalia was so exhausted she fell asleep on Porkpie's back. I knew she had to be really tired to sleep in the air, despite her fear of heights, but she didn't have much to worry about.**

"It's not as bad as it use to be," Thalia said

**Her pegasus flew with ease, adjusting himself every once in a while so Thalia stayed safely on his back.**

**Annabeth and I flew along side by side.**

**"Your dad seems cool," I told her.**

"He is now," Annabeth murmured.**  
**

**It was too dark to see her expression. She looked back, even though California was far behind us now.**

**"I guess so," she said. "We've been arguing for so many years."**

**"Yeah, you said."**

**"You think I was lying about that?" It sounded like a challenge, but a pretty halfhearted one, like she was asking it of herself. **

Thalia chuckled and said, If that was a challenge then you most definitely would lose, nobody is beat a child of Athena.

Percy grumbled and said, "True enough."

"Annabeth grinned, knowing it was true. Unless it was one of her half siblings, but most of the time they couldn't beat her either.

**"I didn't say you were lying. It's just… he seems okay. Your stepmom, too. Maybe they've, uh, gotten cooler since you saw them last."**

**She hesitated. "They're still in San Francisco, Percy. I can't live so far from camp."**

**I didn't want to ask my next question. I was scared to know the answer. But I asked it anyway. "So what are you going to do now?"**

**We flew over a town, an island of lights in the middle of the dark. It whisked by so fast we might've been in an airplane.**

**"I don't know," she admitted. "But thank you for rescuing me."**

**"Hey, no big deal. We're friends."**

"Unlike you and Nico," Annabeth said.

Which earned her blushes from the said demigods'.**  
**

**"You didn't believe I was dead?"**

**"Never."**

**She hesitated. "Neither is Luke, you know. I mean… he isn't dead."**

**I stared at her. I didn't know if she was cracking under the stress or what. "Annabeth, that fall was pretty bad. There's no way—"**

**"He isn't dead," she insisted. "I know it. The same way you knew about me."**

**That comparison didn't make me too happy.**

**The towns were zipping by faster now, islands of light thicker together, until the whole landscape below was a glittering carpet. Dawn was close. The eastern sky was turning gray.**

**And up ahead, a huge white-and-yellow glow spread out before us—the lights of New York.**

**How's that for speedy, loss? Blackjack bragged. We get extra hay for breakfast or what? "You're the man, Blackjack," I told him. "Er, the horse, I mean."**

**"You don't believe me about Luke," Annabeth said, "but we'll see him again. He's in trouble, Percy. He's under Kronos's spell."**

**I didn't feel like arguing, though it made me mad. How could she still have any feelings for that creep? How could she possibly make excuses for him? He deserved that fall. He deserved… okay, I'll say it. He deserved to die. Unlike Bianca. Unlike Zoe. Luke couldn't be alive. It wouldn't be fair.**

Nico raised an eyebrow at Percy.

"It's not like I had feelings for you yet. Plus there's no need to be jealous is there," Percy said

"Maybe," Nico muttered too low for anyone to ear.

**"There it is." Thalia's voice; she'd woken up. She was pointing toward Manhattan, which was quickly zooming into view. "It's started."**

**"What's started?" I asked. Then I looked where she was pointing. High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air.**

**"The winter solstice," Thalia said. "The Council of the Gods."**

"That's the end of the chapter, who's next," Hera said.


	20. Chapter 20

**_AN: I have posted another story on my profile. Its called "A New Found Love" Please read it, I personally like writing it. I will not be abandoning any of my stories, if any of you are worrying about that. I have a thing about if I start something, I'm going to finish it, no matter how long it takes._**

**_R&R  
_**

* * *

"I Will," Hephaestus said.

**"The Gods Vote How to Kill Us,"**

Nico nervously bit his lip, while the Olympians' looked down. They were quite fond of the demigods in the room.

**Flying was bad enough for a son of Poseidon, but flying straight up to Zeus's palace, with thunder and lightning swirling around it, was even worse.**

**We circled over midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus. I'd only been there once before, traveling by elevator up to the secret six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building. This time, if it was possible, Olympus amazed me even more. In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling ****about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. I caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things I couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and ****reed pipes.**

**Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall ****of the gods.**

"Its even better now," Annabeth whispered.

**Our pegasi set us down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before I could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.**  
**Good luck, boss, Blackjack said.**

"We're going to need it, " muttered Percy to softly to hear.

**"Yeah." I didn't know why, but I had a sense of doom. I'd never seen all the gods together. ****I knew any one of them could blast me to dust, and a few of them would like to. ****Hey, if ya don't come back, can I have your cabin for my stable? ****I looked at the pegasus. ****Just a thought, he said. Sorry.**

That got a few laughs out of it.

**Blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving Thalia, Annabeth, and me alone. For a minute we stood there regarding the palace, the way we'd stood together in front of Westover Hall, what seemed like a million years ago. ****And then, side by side, we walked into the throne room.**  
**Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations-even the newest one, Zoe the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.**  
**All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and I'm telling you, if you've ever had a dozen all-powerful super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once... Well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic.**

A few of the gods chuckled, while the goddess' just shook their heads.

**"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.**  
**"Mooo!"**  
**That's when I noticed Bessie and Grover. ****A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Grover was kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but ****when he saw us, he cried, "You made it!" ****He started to run toward me, then remembered he was turning his back on Zeus, and looked for permission.**  
**"Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Grover. The lord of the sky ****was staring intently at Thalia.**  
**Grover trotted over. None of the gods spoke. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Bessie splashed in his bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled. ****I looked nervously at my father, Poseidon. He was dressed similar to the last time I'd seen him: beach shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals. He had a weathered, suntanned face with a dark beard and deep green eyes. I wasn't sure how he would feel about seeing me again, but the corners of his eyes crinkled with smile lines. He nodded as if to say It's okay.**  
**Grover gave Annabeth and Thalia big hugs. Then he grasped my arms. "Percy, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"**

"Do what?" The Olympians asked.

**"Do what?" I asked.**

Thalia snickered and commented, "Looks like you guys think like Kelp Head."

"NO! WE'VE BEEN PERCIFIED," Apollo and Hermes shouted dramatically.

Which got everyone to start laughing.

"Percified?" Percy asked.

"You start acting like Percy," Thalia said.

**"Heroes," Artemis called.**  
**The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, ****perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward us, her silver ****robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of**  
**moonlight. ****"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told us. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act." ****There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested. ****"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes..." ****She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?" ****She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. The Lady Hera. ****On Zeus's right, my father Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus. ****Hermes winked at me. He was wearing a business suit today, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so I wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave me a thumbs-up. ****Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at me while he sharpened a knife. ****On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Annabeth's mother, Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled at me knowingly and made me blush in spite of myself.**

Nico turned and looked at Percy, no he glared at him.

Percy sighed. "You know there's no need to jealous, I only look at her as a friend. Nothing more. That has never change and never will"

Aphrodite 'awwed' at that, knowing exactly what he meant.

**All the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole**  
**palace didn't blow apart.**  
**"I gotta say"-Apollo broke the silence-"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and**  
**began to recite: "Heroes win laurels-"**  
**"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry.**

Everyone, but Apollo laughed that. But they knew it was true, Apollo's poetry was torture.

**"All in favor of not disintegrating them?" ****A few tentative hands went up-Demeter, Aphrodite. ****"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and me. "These two are dangerous. ****It'd be much safer, while we've got them here-"**  
**"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits."**  
**"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."**

Percy and Thalia smiled. Not very often would a demigod get a compliment from your immortal parent.

Nico just looked down, remembering back to all the times his dad made the comments about Bianca. Though he got a worried glace from Percy and his father. Who knew what he was thinking, he was actually proud of his son, he just didn't show it.

**Thalia blushed. She studied the floor. I knew how she felt. I'd hardly ever talked to my ****father, much less gotten a compliment.**  
**The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well. ****But there is a security risk here with the other two."**  
**"Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you-" Athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods... such as Thalia and Percy... are dangerous. As thickheaded as he is, Ares has a point."  
"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'-"**

Everyone snickered, Ares just confirmed that he was thick-headed.

**He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled ****him back down. ****"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later." ****Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?"**

Percy thought back to the conversation he had with Dionysus, when he had asked to keep his son safe. Mr. D. might not show it, but the demigods know that he actually does care.

**Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?"**  
**"I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide."**  
**"I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."**  
**"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."**  
**"Don't call me sis! I will reward them."**  
**"Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. We have ****agreement on that?" ****A lot of nodding heads. ****It took me a second to realize what they were saying. Then my heart turned to lead. ****"Bessie? You want to destroy Bessie?"**

"How did you come up with that name anyways?" Nico asked

Percy shrugged his shoulders. Which Nico responded to lightly shaking his head, with a small smile on his face.

**"Mooooooo!" Bessie protested. ****My father frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Bessie?"**  
**"Dad," I said, "he's just a sea creature. A really nice sea creature. You can't destroy him." ****Poseidon shifted uncomfortably. "Percy, the monster's power is considerable. If the Titans were to steal it, or-"**  
**"You can't," I insisted. I looked at Zeus. I probably should have been afraid of him, but I stared him right in the eye. "Controlling the prophecies never works. Isn't that true? ****Besides, Bess-the Ophiotaurus is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as... as Kronos eating his children, just because of something they might do. It's wrong!"**

"I suppose the Sea Spawn has a point, " Athena finally admitted.

Percy just stared shocked at Athena, did she just give him a compliment.

**Zeus seemed to consider this. His eyes drifted to his daughter Thalia. "And what of the ****risk? Kronos knows full well, if one of you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you ****would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says."**  
**"You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them."**  
**Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?"**  
**"Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoe Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately." ****Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear. ****A feeling of panic seized me. "Annabeth," I said under my breath. "Don't."**  
**She frowned at me. "What?"**  
**"Look, I need to tell you something," I continued. The words came stumbling out of me. "I couldn't stand it if... I don't want you to-"**  
**"Percy?" she said. "You look like you're going to be sick." ****And that's how I felt. I wanted to say more, but my tongue betrayed me. It wouldn't move because of the fear in my stomach. And then Artemis turned. ****"I shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "If she will accept it."**  
**"No," I murmured. ****"Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"**

"You seriously thought, after Lady Artemis spoke to Zeus. Thalia's dad, that Artemis was going to ask me to join. No offense Lady Artemis " Annabeth said.

Artemis smiled and replied, "None taken."

Percy shrugged his shoulders.

**Stunned silence filled the room. I stared at Thalia, unable to believe what I was hearing. ****Annabeth smiled. She squeezed Thalia's hand and let it go, as if she'd been expecting this all along. ****"I will," Thalia said firmly.**  
**Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. "My daughter, consider well-"**  
**"Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again." ****She knelt before the goddess and began the words I remembered from Bianca's oath, what seemed like so long ago. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men..."**

Nico looked down at the mention of his sister.

Percy took his chin to make Nico look him in the eyes. Cupping his face, he placed a peck on his lips and asked, "Are you going to alright?"

Nico nodded, sighed contentedly and leaned against him, before closing his eyes.

**Afterward, Thalia did something that surprised me almost as much as the pledge. She came ****over to me, smiled, and in front of the whole assembly, she gave me a big hug. ****I blushed. ****When she pulled away and gripped my shoulders, I said, "Um... aren't you supposed to not do that anymore? Hug boys, I mean?"  
"I'm honoring a friend," she corrected. "I must join the Hunt, Percy. I haven't known peace since... since Half-Blood Hill. I finally feel like I have a home. But you're a hero. You will be the one of the prophecy."**  
**"Great," I muttered.**

"Wasn't very fun either," Percy muttered**  
**

**"I'm proud to be your friend." ****She hugged Annabeth, who was trying hard not to cry. Then she even hugged Grover, who looked ready to pass out, like somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon.**

Everyone snickered, remembering what happened when Grover met Lady Artemis.

**Then Thalia went to stand by Artemis's side. ****"Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said. ****"This boy is still dangerous," Dionysus warned. "The beast is a temptation to great power. ****Even if we spare the boy-"**  
**"No." I looked around at all the gods. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. My dad can hide ****him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to ****protect him."**  
**"And why should we trust you?" rumbled Hephaestus. ****"I'm only fourteen," I said. "If this prophecy is about me, that's two more years."**  
**"Two years for Kronos to deceive you," Athena said. "Much can change in two years, my young hero."**  
**"Mother!" Annabeth said, exasperated. ****"It is only the truth, child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the boy."**  
**My father stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I can help it." ****He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for the boy and the safety of the Ophiotaurus."**  
**"You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood suddenly. "I won't have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession."**  
**"Brother, please," Poseidon sighed. ****Zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone. ****"Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium for the creature here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The boy will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor." ****Zeus thought about this. "All in favor?"**  
**To my surprise, a lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Athena. But everybody else...**  
**"We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes...**  
**I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!" ****There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian.**

"Definitely." Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth said.**  
**

**The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and I realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same sound track. No arguments. No fights to change the radio station. ****Just requests to crank it up. ****Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm-his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time. ****Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Grover trotted around with a full plate of tin cans and enchiladas, and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which he kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!" ****Gods kept coming over to congratulate me. Thankfully, they had reduced themselves to human size, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Hermes started chatting with me, and he was so cheerful I hated to tell him what had happened to his least-favorite son, Luke, but before I could even get up the courage, Hermes got a call on his caduceus and walked away.**

Hermes looked down sadly, at the mention of Luke.**  
**

**Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot any time, and if I ever wanted archery lessons-**

"Thalia, Nico, and Annabeth's eyes widened. Turned to Percy and asked, "You didn't did you?"

Percy rolled his eyes and said, "Nope."

Which made them sigh and relief.

**"Thanks," I told him. "But seriously, I'm no good at archery."**  
**"Ah, nonsense," he said. "Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.? Best fun there is!" ****I made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. ****I was looking for Annabeth. Last I saw her, she'd been dancing with some minor godling.**  
**Then a man's voice behind me said, "You won't let me down, I hope." ****I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me.**  
**"Dad... hi."**  
**"Hello, Percy. You've done well."**

Percy smiled.**  
**

**His praise made me uneasy. I mean, it felt good, but I knew just how much he'd put himself on the line, vouching for me. It would've been a lot easier to let the others disintegrate me.**

"They wouldn't dare, " Poseidon said threatening. Making sure the Olympians got his point.**  
**

**"I won't let you down," I promised. ****He nodded. I had trouble reading gods' emotions, but I wondered if he had some doubts.**  
**"Your friend Luke-"**  
**"He's not my friend," I blurted out. Then I realized it was probably rude to interrupt.**  
**"Sorry."**  
**"Your former friend Luke," Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Hermes's pride and joy. Just bear that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall."**  
**"Luke fell pretty hard," I agreed. "He's dead."**

"No he wasn't, " the demigods said, remembering when they saw Kronos/Luke.**  
**

**Poseidon shook his head. "No, Percy. He is not."**  
**I stared at him. "What?"**  
**"I believe Annabeth told you this. Luke still lives. I have seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him."**  
**"How can he be alive?" I said. "That fall should've killed him!"**

"The River Styx," Nico and Percy muttered too softly for anyone to hear.**  
**

**Poseidon looked troubled. "I don't know, Percy, but beware of him. He is more dangerous than ever. And the golden coffin is still with him, still growing in strength."**  
**"What about Atlas?" I said. "What's to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?"**  
**My father snorted in derision. "If it were so easy, he would have escaped long ago. No, my son. The curse of the sky can only be forced upon a Titan, one of the children of Gaia and Ouranous. Anyone else must choose to take the burden of their own free will. Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would do such a thing. No one in Kronos's army would dare try to bear that weight, even upon pain of death."**

**"Luke did it," I said. "He let Atlas go. Then he tricked Annabeth into saving him and used her to convince Artemis to take the sky."**  
**"Yes," Poseidon said. "Luke is... an interesting case." ****I think he wanted to say more, but just then, Bessie started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd, ****"I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, my son. We may not speak again for some time." ****And just like that he was gone. ****I was about to keep searching the crowd when another voice spoke. "Your father takes a great risk, you know." ****I found myself face-to-face with a gray-eyed woman who looked so much like Annabeth I almost called her that.**

Athena actually smiled at that, Annabeth was her favorite daughter.

**"Athena." I tried not to sound resentful, after the way she'd written me off in the council, but I guess I didn't hide it very well. ****She smiled dryly. "Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous."**  
**"You never take risks?" ****She nodded. "I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet... your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself." ****My heart crept into my throat. A year ago, Annabeth and I had had a talk about fatal flaws. ****Every hero had one. Hers, she said, was pride. She believed she could do anything... like holding up the world, for instance. Or saving Luke. But I didn't really know what mine was.**

"Do you know what your fatal flaw is?" Nico asked.

"Personal Loyalty," Percy whispered with a smile.**  
**

"It's better than having a grudge,"

"It really doesn't matter. I love you anyway."

Which made Nico blush lightly and smile.

**Athena looked almost sorry for me. "Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Percy. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now my daughter, Annabeth." She paused, disapproving. "In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos' ****traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. In a hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous."**

"And I save all my friends, and saved the world, " Percy muttered, so only the demigods could hear.

**I balled my fists. "That's not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends-"**  
**"The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom... that is very hard indeed."**  
**I wanted to argue, but I found I couldn't. Athena was pretty darn smart.**

"She's not the goddess of Wisdom for nothing, you know, " Thalia said.**  
**

**"I hope the Council's decisions prove wise," Athena said. "But I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver in your loyalties..." ****She fixed me with her cold gray stare, and I realized what a terrible enemy Athena would make, ten times worse than Ares or Dionysus or maybe even my father. Athena would never give up. She would never do something rash or stupid just because she hated you, and if she made a plan to destroy you, it would not fail.**

"Athena always has a plan, " Annabeth said.

Making the everyone groan and Athena smile. They were all too use to that saying.

**"Percy!" Annabeth said, running through the crowd. She stopped short when she saw who I was talking to. "Oh... Mom."**  
**"I will leave you," Athena said. "For now." ****She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her as if she were carrying Aegis.**  
**"Was she giving you a hard time?" Annabeth asked.**  
**"No," I said. "It's... fine." ****She studied me with concern. She touched the new streak of gray in my hair that matched hers exactly-our painful souvenir from holding Atlas's burden. There was a lot I'd wanted to say to Annabeth, but Athena had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. ****I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter.**

Percy shrugged, "It's just a friendship."**  
**

**"So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?" ****The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And... I think I owe you a dance." ****She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain." ****So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.**

"Done," Hephaestus announced.**  
**


	21. Chapter 21

_AN: I got at review asking on how old Nico is. Just so you know I have him as 16 in this story, same age as Percy. You'll find out later how and why._

* * *

"Who's next?" Hephaestus asked.

"Ares, read," Zeus told Ares. He glared at him, silencing him before he could complain.

**"I Get A New Enemy For Christmas,"**

Nico sighed and muttered, "Great, now everyone gets to hear how I can't handle on hearing my sister's death."

Percy looked Nico in the eyes and said, "Nico, it's understandable. She was your only sister and the only family you had left!"

"I know, but I shouldn't have blamed you," Nico whispered quietly, so nobody could overhear.

"The past is the past. Don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Percy."

**Before I left Olympus, I decided to make a few calls. It wasn't easy, but I finally found a quiet fountain in a corner garden and sent an Iris-message to my brother, Tyson, under the sea. I told him about our adventures, and Bessie-he wanted to hear every detail about the cute baby cow serpent.**

This made everyone chuckle. The Olympians liked Tyson, even though he was a Cyclops and had never met him.

**And I assured him that Annabeth was safe. Finally I got around to explaining how the shield he'd made me last summer had been damaged in the manticore attack.**  
**"Yay!" Tyson said. "That means it was good! It saved your life!"**  
**"It sure did, big guy," I said. "But now it's ruined."**  
**"Not ruined!" Tyson promised. "I will visit and fix it next summer."**  
**The idea picked me up instantly. I guess I hadn't realized how much I missed having Tyson around.**  
**"Seriously?" I asked. "They'll let you take time off?"**  
**"Yes! I have made two thousand seven hundred and forty-one magic swords," Tyson said proudly, showing me the newest** **blade. "The boss says 'good work'! He will let me take the whole summer off. I will visit camp!"We talked for a while about war preparations and our dad's fight with the old sea gods, and all the cool things we could do together next summer, but then Tyson's boss started yelling at him and he had to get back to work.  
I dug out my last golden drachma and made one more Iris-message.  
"Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan." The mist shimmered, and there was my mom at our kitchen table, laughing and holding hands with her friend Mr. Blowfish.**

Everyone but Poseidon and Percy shook their heads. Only they would think that was Paul's name.

**I felt so embarrassed, I was about to wave my hand through the mist and cut the connection, but before I could, my mom saw me. Her eyes got wide. She let go of Mr. Blowfish's hand real quick. "Oh, Paul! You know what? I left my writing journal in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?"**

**"Sure, Sally. No problem."  
He left the room, and instantly my mom leaned toward the Iris-message. "Percy! Are you all right?"  
"I'm, uh, fine. How's that writing seminar going?" She pursed her lips. "It's fine. But that's not important. Tell me what's happened!" I filled her in as quickly as I could. She sighed with relief when she heard that Annabeth was safe. "I knew you could do it!" she said. "I'm so proud."  
"Yeah, well, I'd better let you get back to your homework."  
"Percy, I... Paul and I-"  
"Mom, are you happy?"  
The question seemed to take her by surprise. She thought for a moment. "Yes. I really am, Percy. Being around him makes me happy."  
"Then it's cool. Seriously. Don't worry about me." The funny thing was, I meant it.  
Considering the quest I'd just had, maybe I should have been worried for my mom. I'd seen just how mean people could be to each other, like Hercules was to Zoe Nightshade,**

Artemis glared at the book harshly, at the mention of Hercules.

**like Luke was to Thalia.**

Thalia looked lost in her memories. She remembered him the way he was on their way to Camp and when she came back to life after being a tree for so long, he had really changed. She didn't know or recognize him since.

**I'd met Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, in person, and her powers had scared me worse than Ares.**

Aphrodite smirked, while Ares scowled at that.

**But seeing my mother laughing and smiling, after all the years she'd suffered with my nasty ex-stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, I couldn't help feeling happy for her.  
"You promise not to call him Mr. Blowfish?" she asked.**

Nico, Thalia, and Annabeth snickered, knowing that Percy was going to call him that anyway.

**I shrugged. "Well, maybe not to his face, anyway."**  
**"Sally?" Mr. Blofis called from our living room. "You need the green binder or the red one?"**  
**"I'd better go," she told me. "See you for Christmas?"**  
**"Are you putting blue candy in my stocking?"**  
**She smiled. "If you're not too old for that."**  
**"I'm never too old for candy."**  
**"I'll see you then."**  
**She waved her hand across the mist. Her image disappeared, and I thought to myself that Thalia had been right, so many days ago at Westover Hall: my mom really was pretty cool.**

"Told you," Thalia said.

And the mature person that Percy is, he sticks his tongue out at her.

**Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. It was the Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, and me at the Empire State Building and ferried us back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.**  
**As we trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, I half expected to see Thalia there, waiting for us.**

"I was already with Artemis," Thalia said.

**But she wasn't. She was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure.**  
**Chiron greeted us at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.  
Annabeth and I sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers-Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission. I knew she must've had a difficult quest, because she didn't even try to pulverize me. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.  
"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."**

The demigods bit their lip, knowing she was talking about the labyrinth. All the demigods, except Thalia, never wanted to enter into that place again. Once was enough.

**"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"**  
**Annabeth smiled at me gratefully, which made me look away.**

Nico didn't say anything, but with the look in his eyes you could tell what he was thinking.

**For some strange reason, I found myself thinking about Hoover Dam, and the odd mortal girl I'd run into there, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I didn't know why, but her annoying comments kept coming back to me. Do you always kill people when they blow their nose? I was only alive because so many people had helped me, even a random mortal girl like that. I'd never even explained to her who I was.**  
**"Luke is alive," I said. "Annabeth was right."**  
**Annabeth sat up. "How do you know?"**  
**I tried not to feel annoyed by her interest. I told her what my dad had said about the Princess Andromeda.**  
**"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."**  
**I had a feeling that when she said "figure something out," she meant "get Luke to change his ways," which annoyed me even more.**

"Don't give me that look, Nico. I never dated her, so there's no need to be jealous," Percy said.

"Still."

Percy smiled and whispered in Nico's ear, "You're cute when you're jealous."

Nico blushed a deep scarlet red and muttered, "Shut up."  
**  
Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old. I mean... he was really old, but he usually didn't look it.  
"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."  
"How do you know?" I asked. "Why would he care about camp?"  
"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply.**

The Olympians looked down guilty, knowing it was true.

**"Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous... We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but-"  
There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlour, his cheeks bright red from the cold.  
He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's... where's my sister?"**

Nico looked down guilty; he shouldn't have blamed Percy for what happened to her.

Percy took hold of his hand, squeezing it affectionately, telling Nico that it was okay.

**Dead silence. I stared at Chiron. I couldn't believe nobody had told him yet. And then I realized why. They'd been waiting for us to appear, to tell Nico in person.**  
**That was the last thing I wanted to do,but I owed it to Bianca.**  
**"Hey, Nico," I got up from my comfortable chair. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk."**  
**He took the news in silence, which somehow made it worse. I kept talking, trying to explain how it had happened, how Bianca had sacrificed herself to save the quest. But I felt like I was only making things worse.**  
**"She wanted you to have this." I brought out the little god figurine Bianca had found in the junkyard. Nico held it in his palm and stared at it.**  
**We were standing at the dining pavilion, just where we'd last spoken before I went on the quest. The wind was bitter cold, even with the camp's magical weather protection. Snow fell lightly against the marble steps. I figured outside the camp borders, there must be a blizzard happening.**  
**"You promised you would protect her," Nico said.**  
**He might as well have stabbed me with a rusty dagger.**  
**It would've hurt less than reminding me of my promise.**  
**"Nico," I said. "I tried. But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she-"**  
**"You promised!"**  
**He glared at me, his eyes rimmed with red. He closed his small fist around the god statue.**  
**"I shouldn't have trusted you." His voice broke, "You lied to me. My nightmares were right!"**  
**"Wait. What nightmares?"**  
**He flung the god statue to the ground. It clattered across the icy marble. "I hate you!"**

Nico flinched. He regretted him saying that since the first time he talked to Bianca's ghost.

**"She might be alive," I said desperately. "I don't know for sure-"**  
**"She's dead." He closed his eyes. His whole body trembled with rage. "I should've known it earlier. She's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing before the judges right now, being evaluated. I can feel it."**  
**"What do you mean, you can feel it?"**  
**Before he could answer, I heard a new sound behind me. A hissing, clattering noise I recognized all too well.**  
**I drew my sword and Nico gasped. I whirled and found myself facing four skeleton warriors.**  
**They grinned fleshless grins and advanced with swords drawn. I wasn't sure how they'd made it inside the camp, but it didn't matter. I'd never get help in time.**  
**"You're trying to kill me!" Nico screamed. "You brought these... these things?"**  
**"No! I mean, yes, they followed me, but no! Nico, run. They can't be destroyed."**  
**"I don't trust you!"  
The first skeleton charged. I knocked aside its blade, but the other three kept coming. I sliced one in half, but immediately it began to knit back together. I knocked another's head off but it just kept fighting.**

**Poseidon's eyes were frantic, wondering how his son was still alive, if he couldn't stop those skeletons.**

**"Run, Nico!" I yelled. "Get help!"**  
**"No!" He pressed his hands to his ears.**

"Someone died?" Percy asked Nico.

Nico nodded his head.

**I couldn't fight four at once, not if they wouldn't die. I slashed, whirled, blocked, jabbed, but they just kept advancing. It was only a matter of seconds before the zombies overpowered me.**  
**"No!" Nico shouted louder. "Go away!"**  
**The ground rumbled beneath me. The skeletons froze. I rolled out of the way just as a crack opened at the feet of the four warriors. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth.**  
**Flames erupted from the fissure, and the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH!**  
**Silence.**  
**In the place where the skeletons had stood, a twenty-foot-long scar wove across the marble floor of the pavilion. Otherwise there was no sign of the warriors.**  
**Awestruck, I looked to Nico. "How did you-"**  
**"Go away!" he yelled. "I hate you! I wish you were dead!"**

"I really didn't mean that Percy," Nico said quietly.

"I know you didn't," Percy said smiling, and got a squeal from Aphrodite when he pecked his lips.

**The ground didn't swallow me up, but Nico ran down the steps, heading toward the woods. I started to follow but slipped and fell to the icy steps. When I got up, I noticed what I'd slipped on.**  
**I picked up the god statue Bianca had retrieved from the junkyard for Nico. The only statue he didn't have, she'd said. A last gift from his sister.**  
**I stared at it with dread, because now I understood why the face looked familiar. I'd seen it before.**  
**It was a statue of Hades, Lord of the Dead.**  
**Annabeth and Grover helped me search the woods for hours, but there was no sign of Nico di Angelo.**

"You shadow-travelled, didn't you?" Percy asked.

Nico nodded.

Percy snickered before saying, "You didn't end up in China did you?"

Nico rolled his eyes and groaned.

Hades looked shocked from the inside, he didn't think his son could shadow-travel yet.

**"We have to tell Chiron," Annabeth said, out of breath.**  
**"No," I said.**  
**She and Grover both stared at me.**  
**"Um," Grover said nervously, "what do you mean... no?**  
**I was still trying to figure out why I'd said that, but the words spilled out of me. "We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a-"**  
**"A son of Hades," Annabeth said. "Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!"**

"No he didn't," Nico muttered darkly.

**"I don't think so," I said. "I don't think Hades broke the oath."**  
**"What?"**  
**"He's their dad," I said, "but Bianca and Nico have been out of commission for a long time, since even before World War II."**  
**"The Lotus Casino!" Grover said, and he told Annabeth about the conversations we'd had with Bianca on the quest. "She and Nico were stuck there for decades. They were born before the oath was made."**  
**I nodded.**  
**"But how did they get out?" Annabeth protested.**

"Alecto," Nico and Percy muttered so quietly that only the demigods heard.

**"I don't know," I admitted. "Bianca said a lawyer came and got them and drove them to Westover Hall. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone.**  
**Not even Chiron. If the Olympians find out-"**  
**"It might start them fighting among each other again," Annabeth said. "That's the last thing we need."**

Athena nodded. The rest of the Olympians didn't bother on starting to argue, they knew it was true.

**Grover looked worried. "But you can't hide things from the gods. Not forever."**  
**"I don't need forever," I said. "Just two years. Until I'm sixteen."**  
**Annabeth paled. "But, Percy, this means the prophecy might not be about you. It might be about-"**  
**"No," I said. "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me."**  
**"Why are you saying that?" she cried. "You want to be responsible for the whole world?"**  
**It was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't say that. I knew I had to step up and claim it.**  
**"I can't let Nico be in any more danger," I said. "I owe that much to his sister. I... let them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer any more."**

"Thanks Percy," Nico gave a sad smile.

Percy knew why, he still felt bad about what happened at the River Styx. But he already forgave him; he didn't know what his father was like at the time. And he wanted to know about his mother and why he could never remember her.

**"The poor kid who hates you and wants to see you dead," Grover reminded me.**  
**"Maybe we can find him," I said. "We can convince him its okay, hide him someplace safe."**  
**Annabeth shivered. "If Luke gets hold of him-"**  
**"Luke won't," I said. "I'll make sure he's got other things to worry about. Namely, me."**  
**I wasn't sure Chiron believed the story Annabeth and I told him. I think he could tell I was holding something back about Nico's disappearance, but in the end, he accepted it.**  
**Unfortunately, Nico wasn't the first half-blood to disappear.**

Causing the demigods to flinch. Thinking about Silena and all the other half-bloods who joined the Titans.

**"So young," Chiron sighed, his hands on the rail of the front porch. "Alas, I hope he was eaten by monsters. Much better than being recruited into the Titans' army."**  
**That idea made me really uneasy. I almost changed my mind about telling Chiron, but I didn't.**  
**"You really think the first attack will be here?" I asked.**

The demigods thought back to that battle, it was as bad as the final battle. But they still lost some of their friends because of it.

**Chiron stared at the snow falling on the hills. I could see smoke from the dragon guardian at the pine tree, the glitter of the distant Fleece.**  
**"It will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said. This winter will be hard... the hardest for many centuries. It's best that you go home to the city, Percy; try to keep your mind on school. And rest. You will need rest."**  
**I looked at Annabeth. "What about you?"**  
**Her cheeks flushed. "I'm going to try San Francisco after all. Maybe I can keep an eye on Mount Tam, make sure the Titans don't try anything else."**  
**"You'll send an Iris-message if anything goes wrong?"**  
**She nodded. "But I think Chiron's right. It won't be until the summer. Luke will need time to regain his strength."**  
**I didn't like the idea of waiting. Then again, next August I would be turning fifteen. So close to sixteen I didn't want to think about it.**  
**"All right," I said. "Just take care of yourself. And no crazy stunts in the Sopwith Camel."**  
**She smiled tentatively. "Deal. And, Percy-"**  
**Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by Grover, who stumbled out of the Big House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale, like he'd seen a specter.  
"He spoke," Grover cried.  
"Calm down, my young satyr," Chiron said, frowning. "What is the matter?"  
"I... I was playing music in the parlour," he stammered, "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!"  
"Who?" Annabeth demanded.  
"Pan!" Grover wailed. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to... I have to find a suitcase."**

Hermes perked up at the mention of his son.

**"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "What did he say?"**  
**Grover stared at me. "Just three words. He said, 'I await you...'"**

"Done," Ares said.


End file.
